Spain’s Telefonica has lost €1bn on the value of its assets in Venezuela after the leftist government devalued the bolivar, and the telco will take a €438m pre-tax loss on its operations in the country for 2012.
The government of Venezuela…
Spain’s Telefonica has lost €1bn on the value of its assets in Venezuela after the leftist government devalued the bolivar, and the telco will take a €438m pre-tax loss on its operations in the country for 2012.
The government of Venezuela devalued its currency from Bs4.3 per dollar to Bs6.3 per dollar earlier this month.
Telefonica said the devaluation had no impact on debt or any other aspects of its 2012 performance.
The news comes days after it was suggested that Telefonica had put its planned LatAm IPO on the backburner. It was reported that it had shelved the flotation after unfavourable valuations and the easing of its debt position.
The telco had net debt of €56bn at the end of Q3 2012, down from €58bn at half-year results.
The company has said it aimed to reduce its net debt to €50bn by the end of 2012 – it plans to release its full year results on 28 February.
Telefonica offers fixed-line and digital television services in the country, but its main business is mobile where it is the second largest operator behind state-owned Movilnet. The Spanish telco generated €2.7bn in revenues for 2011 and OIBDA of €1bn.
