Telefónica registered net losses in the first quarter of 2025 of 1,731 million euros due to the disabilities noted by the sale of the subsidiaries of Argentina and Peru. Without counting these extraordinary ones, the net benefit would have reached 427 million from January to March of this year. It is one of the greatest quarterly losses in the history of Telefónica, also due to the depreciation of assets in Latin America and the Tech Technology subsidiary, although below the 2,154 million he lost in the last quarter of 2023.
The income in the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.9% to 9,221 million euros, and the Gross Operating Benefit (EBITDA) adjusted reached 3,014 million euros, 4.2% less than in the first quarter of 2024. The company blames these descents to the depreciation of currencies in the markets where it operates, with an impact of 4.1 percentage points in the income of 4.4 points in the Ebitda. Discussing this effect, income would have increased 1.3% and Ebitda, 0.6%.
As this newspaper advanced, negative in the accounts of the operator of 1,107 million euros. The Spanish multinational agreed to the sale of its business in Argentina for 1,245 million US dollars (1,189 million euros) to Telecom Argentina, mostly participated by the Clarín Group and the Fintech fund.
For its part Peruvians (around 900,000 euros) to the Argentine company Integra Tec International its subsidiary in Peru, after declaring in creditors. The operation includes the assumption of the debt that, at the end of 2024, amounted to 1,240 million euros. Telefónica Peru’s assets and liabilities have been reclassified as maintained for sale to March 31, 2025 after sale, according to the operator in its accounts.
Telefónica has confirmed a dividend of 0.30 euros per cash by 2025, payable in two sections: the first on December 18 (0.15 euros) and the second in June 2026 (0.15 euros). On the other hand, the second section of the 2024 dividend, also of 0.15 euros per cash and still pending pay, will be distributed on June 19.
In relation to the financial objectives for the year, Telefónica anticipates an interannual organic growth of income, Ebitda and Ebitda, and also establishes as a objective that sales investments are less than 12.5%, a generation of box similar to that of 2024 and a reduction in leverage.
Investment, debt and customers
The investment of the period between January and March has been at 938 million euros, 2.8% less than in the first quarter of 2024, 6.7% less than in the same period of the previous year. As a result, the investment ratio on income has been 10.1%. The Operating Fund has reached 1,412 million euros, 0.6% more organic, with a decrease of 4.9%, for the effect of currencies. Free box generation (FCF) of continued operations, on the other hand, has shown the seasonal behavior of the first quarter, with a figure of -205 million euros until March.
On the other hand, the net financial debt has dropped at 112 million euros since December and has been at 27,049 million euros at the close of the quarter, with an leverage ratio 2.67 times on the EBITDAAL. The financial activity of the quarter, which has generated long -term financing worth 6,780 million euros, has allowed to maintain a liquidity position greater than 20.4 billion, a coverage greater than three years and a half -life of the 11.5 -year debt.
Telefónica has closed the first quarter with a base of 354 million accesses and growth of fiber and mobile contract customers of 9% and 1%, respectively. In operational terms, Telefónica has finished March with a total of 80 million fiber real estate units (+13%), part of a total of 170.9 million with broadband networks. The company thus maintains its global leadership in fiber deployment, only behind Chinese operators. Only 1.5 million additional real estate units have been deployed in the quarter, 37% of which have been executed through fiber vehicles. On the other hand, the average 5G mobile coverage of the main markets has been 75% and has reached 92% of the population in Spain, 98% of Germany, 62% of Brazil and 77% of the United Kingdom.
