Telefonica, the largest telecom operator in Europe, has reported a net loss of USD 589.7 million for this year, a significant decline from the revenue amount of $ 7 billion during the same quarter last year.  According to reports, the company has attributed the loss to the challenging economy, regulatory policies and competitive environments along with the cost to cut jobs.

As per sources, the telecom operator is working on reducing its debt, cutting down on its workforce in Spain and putting a stop to its mergers and acquisitions in an attempt to win back investor confidence. The company reportedly saw mobile data revenues accounting for 41 percent of the entire mobile service revenue, not including the Spanish market.

According to company reports, Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, Chairman and CEO, Telefonica Europe has said that the company has continued to see the benefits of its successful tiered pricing mobile data strategy. Mobile data revenues – driven by increasing smartphone penetration and spiralling mobile data usage – represented 41 per of total mobile service revenues in the first nine months of 2011, compared to 36 per cent in the same period of 2010. Further, Strong commercial results by Telefónica Germany offset moderate performances elsewhere in the Group, where the operating businesses have seen growth restricted by increasingly challenging macro-economic climates.

He also reportedly said that Telefónica Europe’s total customer base reached 57.8 million at the end of September 2011 – a 5 per cent rise year-on-year, while the mobile base was 48 million, with growth mainly in the contract segment.