Telefonica pledges 2022 growth after Argentina drags Q3 to net loss

MADRID: Spanish telecoms group Telefonica said on Thursday it expected a return to revenue growth in 2022 after a 785 million euro ($927.8 million) impairment charge in Argentina dragged it to a net loss in the third quarter.

Revenue rose 1.2% in the third quarter from the second, but currency weakness in other Latin American markets and the coronavirus pandemic added to the pressure, producing a quarterly net loss of 160 million euros.

The company said it expected a return to organic revenue growth in 2022 and a two percentage point improvement in a metric dividing core earnings minus capital expenditure to revenue.

Telefonica shares have been tracking lower over the past five years and are trading more than 50% below their level at the start of 2020.