Telefonica loses $600 million in Q3

European phone giant Telefonica reported its first quarterly loss in nine years, as its main Spanish customer based switched to cheaper rivals’ offers.

However, due to the massive Latin America market that the company for all that has, the losses were offset by a 17.5 percent rise in revenue in the region. The Latin American market now accounts for near half of the group’s revenue, acting as a measured balancing act between the two core regions.

The eurozone’s largest telecoms provider in terms of market value, and one of the largest broadband and phone providers in the world, had before promised a dividend of 1.75 euros per share in 2012.