By David Roman
MADRID--Telefonica SA Thursday posted a 70% annual increase in
second-quarter net profit, driven by extraordinary gains related to
recent acquisitions in Latin America and Europe.
The Madrid-based company said net profit stood at 1.89 billion
euros ($2.09 billion) in the quarter, compared with EUR1.11 billion
a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting a EUR1
billion net profit.
Earnings before interest and taxes fell 11% to EUR1.56 billion,
roughly in line with analysts' expectations, even as revenue rose
12% to EUR11.88 billion.
Sales were bolstered by the recent takeover of E-Plus in Germany
and the inclusion of Brazil's GVT--a company that Telefonica agreed
to buy last year--in the accounts from May. Fast growth in several
Latin American markets provided the bulk of Telefonica revenue.
Telefonica Brasil, Brazil's top operator by market share,
Wednesday posted a 56.4% decrease in second-quarter net profit,
largely due to the absence of extraordinary gains that inflated
profit in 2014, on revenue of 10.42 billion Brazilian real ($3.1
billion), up 5.4% year-over-year.
Write to David Roman at david.roman@wsj.com