Spanish telecom giant Telefonica (MC:TEF) S.A. (NYSE:T) reported weak financial results in the first quarter of 2016.
Quarterly net income decreased 56.9% to €776 million (approximately $856 million) on a year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, first-quarter earnings per ADS (American Depository Share) came in at 6 cents, down 40% year over year.
Telefonica recorded total revenue of €10,784 million (roughly $11, 895 million) in the first quarter, down 8.6% year over year.
Operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) came in at €3,376 million ($3,723.4 million), down 6.7% on a reported basis but up 5.5% on an organic basis. This resulted in an OIBDA margin of 31.3%. Consolidated operating income declined 11.3% on a reported basis to €1,340 million ($1,477.9 million). This figure however improved 11.4% on an organic basis.
Segmental Detail
Telefonica Latin America: Revenues in Brazil decreased 13% on a reported basis but increased 0.6% on an organic basis to €2,431 million ($2,681.1 million), while in the Hispano-American markets, revenues fell 16.7% on a reported basis but improved 11.3% on an organic basis to €3,054 million ($3,368.3 million). OIBDA margin in Brazil and the Hispano-American markets stood at 33.1% and 28.3% in comparison to the year-ago figures of 30.1% and 30.7%, respectively. In Brazil, Telefonica operates through its subsidiary Telefonica Brasil SA (NYSE:VIV) .
Telefonica Europe: In Spain, revenues increased 8.6% on a reported basis and 0.2% on an organic basis to €3,126 million (approximately $3,447.7 million). OIBDA margin in Spain was 40.5% compared with 44.5% in the year-ago quarter. Revenues from Telefonica Deutschland were down 2.3% on both a reported and organic basis to €1,858 million ($2,049.2 million).
Subscriber Statistics
As of Mar 31, 2016, total customer access lines reached approximately 321.8852 million, up 0.9% year over year on the back of T. Deutschland's and T. Hispanoamérica's solid growth pace. Notably, in the Latin American markets, Telefonica competes with large global telecom operators like AT&T, Inc. (NYSE:T) and America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:AMX) .
On a year-over-year basis, mobile access decreased 2.3% to 246.8502 million customers. Total Internet and data access grew 18.1% to 21.4462 million users. Pay-TV access totaled 8.3654 million, up 53% year over year. LTE customer count stood at 35.5691 million, up an astounding 153% year over year, representing 15% of total mobile accesses. Fiber and VDSL access was 7.9151 million. Broadband access was 21.0757 million, up 19% year over year.
Liquidity and Capital Expenditure
Telefonica exited the first quarter of 2016 with net debt of about €50,213 million (about $55,379.9 million), up from €49,921 million ($54,663.5 million) recorded at the end of 2015. Telefonica ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of €5,811 million (around $6,409 million) compared with €5,570 million (around $6,099.2 million) at 2015-end. Net cash provided by operating activities in the first three months of 2016 fell 19.2% year over year to €1,618 million (approximately $1,784.5 million).
Telefonica currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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