TEF Telefonica SA

By Adria Calatayud

Telefonica SA (TEF.MC) said Thursday that first-half net profit rose 2.8% as higher margins offset a revenue decline.

The Spanish telecommunications company said net profit for the half year was 1.79 billion euros ($1.99 billion) compared with EUR1.74 billion in the same period of 2018.

Revenue fell 0.9% to EUR24.12 billion compared with EUR24.33 billion a year earlier.

Group operating income before depreciation and amortization for the first half was EUR8.70 billion, up 7.4% on year. Oibda margin stood at 36.1% in the first half, up 2.8 percentage points on year, the company said.

Telefonica's net debt as of June 30 stood at EUR40.23 billion, EUR844 million lower than at the start of the year, but higher than analysts' forecasts of EUR40.02 billion, according to a consensus provided by the company.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayudvaello@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2019 02:07 ET (06:07 GMT)

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