Telesp Q4 net profits down 24.7%

Brazilian telecoms operator Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo (Telesp) said its fourth quarter net profits to end-2009 totalled BRL544.8 million (USD294 million), down 24.7% from the same period last year. The operator, a unit of Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica, said the dip was largely the result of a fall in local service revenues. Fourth quarter losses attributable to its financial operations reached BRL51.2 million, compared with a loss of BRL43.5 million in the year-ago period. Net revenues were BRL3.9 billion in 4Q09, down from BRL4.1 billion in 4Q08, and EBITDA dipped 6.4% year-on-year to BRL1.39 billion. The EBITDA margin was 35%, down from 41% in the fourth quarter of 2008. Telesp added that full-year net profits stood at BRL2.17 billion last year, down 10.2% y-o-y and EBITDA reached BRL5.87 billion (down 10.4%).