Telefonica reported growth in all of its markets during 2022, as chairman and CEO Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete (pictured) praised the operator group’s ability to deliver its objectives in a challenging macroeconomic environment.

In its Q4 and annual results statement, Alvarez-Pallete voiced satisfaction at transformative efforts at the business and backed Telefonica to continue on its growth trajectory.

He added in 2023 Telefonica will continue to “prioritise investment in connectivity projects” noting “responding to the new demands of the digital era is not an option; it is the choice”.

Net profit was €525 million in Q4, which compares with a loss of €1.2 billion in Q4 2021, though the latter figure was heavily impacted by one-off items.

Revenue was €10.2 billion, up 5.4 per cent.

Across the whole year, revenue was €40 billion, up 1.8 per cent. Net profit of €2 billion was down 73.4 per cent, though the 2021 figure was inflated by exceptional items.

“In a very challenging year, we demonstrated our resilience and ability to mitigate adverse macro developments,” Alvarez-Pallete said. “We executed our strategy to build a stronger, futureproof Telefonica and focused our investments on next-generation networks, while maintaining a disciplined capital allocation framework.”