Madrid: Spain’s heavily indebted telecoms giant Telefonica Thursday reported a plunge in profits on adverse exchange rates but maintained its objectives for the year. It posted net profits of €693 million in the second quarter, down 54.5 per cent, below the figure of €743 million predicted analysts polled by FactSet. The group was hit by the decline against the euro of several currencies in its main markets, notably Brazil, Britain and Argentina. Sales slumped 7.7 per cent to €12.72 billion, and operating income fell 7.1 per cent to 3.92 per cent excluding depreciation and amortisation. But the group said it “confirms its objectives for 2016, including the dividend of €0.75 per share and the leverage ratio in the midterm.”