The telecom industry has left the worst of the crisis behind, Europe's second largest telecom company, Telefonica SA, said on Tuesday.

The worst is over (for the industry), Chief Executive Cesar Alierta said during a speech at the CeBIT technology fair in Hanover.

The company last week broadly met market forecasts for full-year profit, showing that Europe's No. 2 telecom by market capitalisation was able to offset a tough home market in Spain with healthier operations in Latin America.