Telefonica (TEF) reported third-quarter 2009 results with earnings per ADS of US$1.88, comfortably beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of US$1.49. The Spanish telecom giant reported net income of €1.99 billion (US$2.85 billion), down 0.6% year over year, due to lower sales as a result of the beleaguered economy, especially in Spain. Revenue Consolidated revenue fell 5.7% year over year to €14.1 billion (US$20.2 billion). Revenue was impacted by weak contributions from domestic and European markets due to the recession. Latin America contributed 40% of the group revenues followed by Spain at 35% and Europe at 25%. Result by Segments Telefonica Espana The company’s Spanish revenue declined 8.9% to €4.9 billion (US$7 billion), impacted by a reduction in mobile termination rates (inter-operator fees) and the economic downturn. Wireline business revenues fell 9.4% year over year to €2.9 billion (US$4.1 billion) while revenue from wireless ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 12, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Vodafone Group Plc (VOD), Telefonica (TEF), Deutsche Telekom (DT), France Telecom (FTE) and Verizon (VZ).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

Vodafone Profit Leaps, Lifts Savings

Vodafone Group Plc (VOD), the largest wireless carrier in the world by revenue, has announced interim results for fiscal year 2010 with adjusted net income of £4.58 billion (US$7.3 billion) increasing 15% year over year from £3.99 billion (US$6.4 billion) reported a year

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Vodafone Group Plc (VOD), the largest wireless carrier in the world by revenue, has announced interim results for fiscal year 2010 with adjusted net income of £4.58 billion (US$7.3 billion) increasing 15% year over year from £3.99 billion (US$6.4 billion) reported a year ago, driven by favorable exchange rate movements and reduced tax. Adjusted earnings exclude one-time items such as impairment losses. Group Revenue & EBITDA The telecom giant reported consolidated revenues of £21.8 billion (US$34.8 billion) for the period, representing a 9.3% year over year growth. Favorable exchange rate (euro-sterling) swings and net impact of merger and acquisition initiatives contributed to this growth. Excluding these impacts (organic basis), revenue declined 3% year over year. Group service revenue declined 2.6% year over year on an organic basis to £20.5 billion (US$32.7 billion), primarily due to weaker contributions from European markets as recessionary conditions curbed demand ...

German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom (DT) announced results for third-quarter 2009 with reported earnings per ADS of 31 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 25 cents. Net income of €959 million (US$1.4 billion) reflects a 7.2% increase from €895 million (US$1.3 billion) reported a year ago.   This year-over-year growth was fueled by the company’s ongoing cost-cutting initiatives under the "Save for Service" program. Total savings from this program reached approximately €5.4 billion (US$7.7 billion) at the end of the quarter, exceeding the annual savings target of up to €4.7 billion (US$6.7 billion) originally expected to be achieved in 2010.   Group Revenue & EBITDA   Reported revenues of €16.3 billion (US$23.2 billion) reflects 5.2% year-over-year growth, primarily due to the consolidation of Greek operator OTE group, in which Deutsche Telekom holds a 30% stake. Domestic revenues grew 0.6% year over year to €7.2 billion (US$10.3 billion), ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 4, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: France Telecom (FTE), Apple (AAPL), Telefonica (TEF), Vodafone (VOD) and Deutsche Telekom (DT).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s AnalystBlog:

Orange UK Confirms iPhone Launch

France Telecom’s (FTE) subsidiary Orange UK has revealed the iPhone launch date as the carrier will officially unveil the iconic handset in the UK on Nov. 10, 2009. Moreover, the operator has also released pricing and tariff details for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, which will

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French telecom giant France Telecom (FTE) has reported operating results for third-quarter 2009 with revenue falling 6.4% year over year to €12.69 billion (US$18.1 billion), primarily due to unfavorable exchange rate fluctuations (British pound versus Polish zloty) and reduced mobile termination rates (inter-operator fees). Revenue was also hurt by the recession-driven discontinuation of landline phone use by customers.       EBITDA & Margin France Telecom, which operates two of the leading telecom brands in Europe (Orange and Wanadoo), reported EBITDA of €4.6 billion (US$6.6 billion) which declined 8% from the year-ago quarter, resulting in a fall in EBITDA margin to 35.9% from 36.6%. This decline is a result of stringent price regulation and adverse currency exchange swings. Revenue by Key Markets Reported revenue in France (46% of group sales), the company’s largest market, declined 1.6% year over year to €5.9 billion (US$8.4 billion) ...

German telecom carrier Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Telecom (FTE) are merging their UK operations in a 50-50 joint venture. The companies have initiated negotiations and an agreement is likely to be signed by the end of October 2009. If and when the deal is finalized, Deutsche Telekom’s British subsidiary T-Mobile UK will combine with France Telecom’s Orange UK in a historic merger. In the proposed deal, Deutsche Telekom will contribute T-Mobile UK, including the unit’s 50% stake in the 3G wireless joint venture with Hutchison, while France Telecom will add its UK broadband Internet business along with the wireless operation. The companies are likely to retain the Orange and T-Mobile brands for now to prevent customer defection. A new brand, however, is expected within two years. The British mobile market is one of the most fiercely competitive markets in Europe. Currently, Spanish telecom ...

U.S. stocks jumped on Monday as more merger and acquisition activity in the last days of the third quarter encouraged investors following three sessions of losses.

Xerox Corp will buy Affiliated Computer Services Inc for $6.4 billion in a cash-and-stock deal that expands the copier company into technology outsourcing and data management.

Xerox shares fell 13.4 percent to $7.77 while ACS shot up 16.7 percent to $55.06.

Abbott Laboratories said it would buy the drugs unit of Solvay in a $6.6 billion deal, giving Abbott full control of its Belgian development partner’s cholesterol treatments and exposure to emerging markets.

Abbott stock rose 3.7 percent to $49.11.

“Deal announcements are helping the market off to a good start, especially as we had a bit of selling off last week,” said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

“People were waiting for a time to get in, and now, they have it.”

With Monday’s gains, the Dow Jones

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  Incumbent German telecom carrier Deutsche Telekom (DT) is evaluating the acquisition of Sprint Nextel (S), the third largest US carrier. The company has reportedly initiated discussions and may submit a bid in the coming weeks. Deutsche Telekom operates in the US through its subsidiary T-Mobile USA, which is the fourth largest US wireless carrier, with 33.5 million subscribers.   Sprint has a current market valuation of $10.8 billion with a total debt position of approximately $21 billion. In order to finance the potential multi-billion dollar deal, Deutsche Telekom may need to seek funding from its shareholders, including the German government, which holds 32% stake in the company. Deutsche Telekom is pursuing several initiatives to revive its struggling business operations across Britain and the US. The company has recently announced the merger of its British subsidiary T-Mobile UK with France Telecom’s (FTE) Orange UK ...

German telecom carrier Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Telecom (FTE) are finally merging their UK operations in a 50-50 joint venture. The companies reportedly initiated negotiations yesterday and an agreement is likely to be signed by the end of October. If the deal is finalized, Deutsche Telekom’s British subsidiary T-mobile UK will combine with France Telecom’s Orange UK in a historic merger.

In the proposed deal, Deutsche Telekom will contribute T-mobile UK, including the unit’s 50% stake in the 3G wireless joint venture with Hutchison, while France Telecom will add its UK broadband Internet business along with the wireless operation. The companies are likely to retain the Orange and T-mobile brands for now to prevent customer defection. A new brand, however, is expected within two years.

The British mobile market is one of the fiercely competitive markets in Europe. Currently, Spanish telecom giant Telefonica’s (TEF) UK

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