MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish Telecom firm Telefonica said on Thursday its net profit in the first quarter of this year rose a higher than expected 20%, boosted by higher revenues. The company said its net profit was 706 million euros ($741.86 million), while core earnings were 3.2 billion and revenues 9.41 billion. A company-provided consensus of analysts expected net profit of 470 million euros, core earnings of 2.96 billion and revenues of 9.07 billion. The company attributed the rising income to its ability to adapt prices to inflation in most markets, favourable currency swings and the digit…