Telefonica first-quarter core profit down 3.9 percent on currency pressures

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish telecoms firm Telefonica on Thursday posted a 3.9 percent fall in first quarter core profit from a year earlier, in line with analyst expectations, as improvements in the domestic market were offset by currency pressures.

Telefonica has been raising tariffs in its home market after investing billions in high-speed networks in an effort to combat low-cost rivals such as Spain's Mas Movil.

The group expects revenues to rise around 1 percent and Oibda margin to increase by half a percentage point as a result. It would keep its dividend unchanged at 0.40 euros per share.

Operating income before depreciation and amortisation (Oibda) was 3.86 billion euros ($4.70 billion) compared with analysts' forecast of 3.86 billion euros.

Telefonica - which also offers services in Britain, Germany and throughout Latin America - had revenues of 12.19 billion euros in the first quarter compared to 13.13 billion euros a year earlier while net profit was 837 million euros compared to 779 million euros.

($1 = 0.8214 euros)

(Reporting by Julien Toyer; Editing by Paul Day and Matthew Mpoke Bigg)