telephone has earned revenue of 10.045 million euros in the first quarter of this year, which is an increase of 6.7% compared to the same period the previous year. Most of Telefónica’s major markets closed the quarter positive terms. Thus, Spain has increased its revenue by 0.3%, up to 3,088 million euros; Germany has grown by 8%, to 2,101 million euros; and Brazil, 17.5%, up to 2,282 million euros. For its part, Great Britain (the cooperate Virgin Media O2), had achieved revenue of 2.947 million, representing a 1.4% decrease.

The company has indicated that its first quarter results put the company on track to meet its financial goals for the whole year and allow it to confirm a 2023 dividend distribution, of 0.30 euros per share, payable in two tranches. , in December 2023 and June 2024.

Obda from telephone It totaled 3.121 million euros at the end of March, which is a decrease of 2.4% compared to the 3.199 million registered in the previous year. Regarding net profit, it has reached 298 million euros, which is a decrease of 57.9% compared to 706 million euros in the previous year. The company points out that this decline is not related to business behavior directly, but to three accounting factors. The first is that when compared to the first quarter of 2022, there is a capital gain factor from the sale of the Colombian fiber operation that occurred in early 2022 and did not occur this year. The company’s quarterly updates under the equity method also have an impact, as is the case with British subsidiary Virgin Media O2. In this case, 188 million euros were deducted, compared with the 72 million euros added last year, “due to variations in the fair value of derivatives.” And finally, the number of corporate taxes grew by 71% to 162 million, “mainly due to the tremendous positive impact of the reversal of the tax regime in Germany.”

The exchange rate was favorable for the next quarter, with a positive contribution to the group’s revenue of €136 million and €47 million in the case of Oibda.

Oibda’s solidity and efficient investment management have allowed operating cash (Oibda – CapEx) to record an organic growth of 2.1%, up to 2,320 million euros, excluding spectrum.

At the end of the first quarter, net debt stood at 26,443 million euros, 3.5% lower than the previous year (27,453 million), as a result of the company’s financial strength and cash generated by the business. The March figure is also lower than the 26.687 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022, just before. As of March 31, free cash generation has reached 454 million euros.

Telefónica has indicated that they are prepared for the current scenario of inflationary pressures and rising interest rates: More than 80% of debt is anchored at a fixed rate, companies have maturities covered within the next three years, the average age of debt is 13.2 years and its liquidity position is close to 21,400 million euros.

Customer base of telephone it has grown 4% between January and March, reaching 383.6 million, with strong growth in fiber access (+16%) and mobile contract access (+7%).

The company continues to be a leader in fiber adoption, with a total of 168.9 million real estate units authorized at the end of March, 4% more than last year, of which a total of 66.6 million (+15%) were run through the fiber network of telephone.

Regarding the 5G technology already available in four major markets, the company launched that version during the quarter stand-alone (autonomous or complete system of 5G networks, which offer additional capabilities) in Brazil, and plans to roll out in the UK, Germany, and Spain throughout 2023. By the end of March, 5G had covered more than 2,100 locations in the UK, more of 82% of the population in Germany, 85% of the population in Spain (although most of the coverage is achieved with so-called 5G DSS, which does not offer the full capabilities of the standard) and 58 cities in Brazil.