Telefónica, the Spanish telecommunications group, on Thursday reported flat net profits for the first nine months of 2009, as steady results from Latin America, along with costs cuts, helped offset domestic weakness.

The company, the world’s third-biggest telecoms group by customer base, said profits for the nine months to the end of September had been €5.6bn ($8.3bn), ahead 0.3 per cent on the same period a year ago. It said the increase had been 6.4 per cent after capital gains for both periods were stripped out.