- Against the backdrop of Brazilian recession, Telefonica (NYSE:TEF) is looking to its growing broadband footprint in the country to help it weather that storm, and COO Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete is upbeat: "The economy won't help, but the company is improving."
- “We won’t change our plans," he told reporters in Spain. "The current momentum will continue. We are optimistic toward the medium term."
- Telefonica is integrating broadband operator GVT, which it acquired from Vivendi for about $9.8B and began folding into Telefonica Brasil (NYSE:VIV) to forge the leading integrated telecom in the country, blending GVT's wide-reaching fiber-optic network with Vivo's large 3G/4G networks.
- Brazil -- Telefonica's second-largest market -- is in the midst of its longest recession since the 1930s and is dealing with a weaker currency, as depreciation in the real has accelerated over the past six weeks. (First-half currency effect "hasn't been bad," Pallete says.)
- Previously: Telefonica -0.3% after Q2 sales beat, raised full-year guidance (Jul. 30 2015)
- Previously: Telefónica closes on €7.5B purchase of GVT (May. 29 2015)