Telefonica on track to meet 2024 targets despite loss in Peru

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish telecom company Telefonica said on Thursday it is on track to meet its financial targets for the year despite a 314 million euro ($337.4 million) impairment in Peru that hit its bottom line in the third quarter.

The company’s net profit fell to 10 million euros in the third quarter, down from 502 million euros in the same period a year ago, the company said. Analysts expected a net profit of 329 million euros, according to a consensus provided by the company.

The company’s core earnings were 2.95 billion euros out of overall revenues of 10.02 billion euros, whereas analysts expected 3.22 billion euros out of 9.98 billion euros in revenues, according to the consensus.

Telefonica said its performance in the January-September period put it on track to meet its targets for the full year. It confirmed the dividend payment.

“All core markets maintain the same direction of travel with improved commercial momentum and growth in local currency,” Chief Executive Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete said in a statement.

The said that its free cash flow over the first nine months of the year rose 28% from the same period a year earlier, a much faster pace than the 10% it expects for the full year.

($1 = 0.9307 euros)

(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Jane Merriman)