Telefonica CEO Looking for Deals to Boost European Business

Telefonica’s new CEO and chairman Marc Murtra stated the company would pursue deals to help Europe better compete on a global scale. In an interview with the Financial Times, Murtra said he wanted to boost Europe’s strategic autonomy in the face of US dominance in technology by pursuing and driving telecoms mergers. “We think there’s got to be and there is going to be an intra-market consolidation and a European-wide consolidation. That’s what we want to play a leading part in.”

In other comments, Murtra said big technology companies had helped the US move ahead in the race for global dominance, but Europe has the ability and resources to make the playing field more equal. “My view is that while calamities are inevitable, decadence is not.” Since taking charge, Murtra has launched a strategic review of Telefonica which is due to be completed in the second half of the year.

While emphasizing the need for Europe to increase competitiveness, Murtra added it would focus on areas related to telecoms and not try to compete with US giants in other segments. “We’re going to focus on what we know how to do better than anybody else. Anything we’re going to do…is going to have an industrial rationale and we’re going to look at the numbers very carefully.”

In Telefonica’s first results announcement with Murtra at the helm, it reported a 5.4% revenue increase to €10.7 billion for 4Q24. Net income hit €425 million, a decrease of almost 42% due to restructuring costs. Full-year revenue increased 1.6% to €41.3 billion, with net income coming in at €2.3 billion, a 2.8% decrease.

In an earnings statement, Murtra said that as he took on the role of chair and CEO, he saw a company built on exception foundations. “We have delivered on our financial commitments while continuing to strengthen our competitive position. We have sustained momentum in our core markets of Spain, Brazil, Germany, and the UK.”