Brazil's Telefonica posts 13% increase in third-quarter net profit
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's Telefonica reported on Tuesday a 13% increase in net profit for the third quarter compared to the same period last year.
Telefonica Brasil reported a net profit of 1.67 billion reais ($290.4 million), versus analysts' expectations of a 1.57 billion real profit.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
The firm, which is controlled by Spain's Telefonica, is the largest mobile-phone service provider in Brazil by total phone lines, according to data from local telecom regulator Anatel.
BY THE NUMBERS
Net operational revenue increased some 7% in the quarter to 14 billion reais, with revenues from its primary mobile unit rising nearly 9% on growth in postpaid services.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at 5.95 billion reais, up 7.4% year-on-year.
KEY QUOTES
The "strong performance" of Telefonica's postpaid business comes from an increase in clients - both due to new customers and migrating existing customers over from prepaid services - as well as annual price hikes, Telefonica Brasil said in the earnings report.
($1 = 5.7514 reais)
(Reporting by Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Editing by Kylie Madry and Lincoln Feast.)