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Frankfurt am Main (AFP)
Network operator Deutsche Telekom was not convinced Thursday of its optimism for 2019, even as it had announced a fall in profits last year and was considering mbadive investments in 5G networks and a hoped-for merger with Sprint in the United States.
The net profit of the Bonn-based giant fell 37.4% to 2.2 billion euros, a decline which, according to the group, was mainly reduced to a higher net income in 2017 thanks to tax reforms undertaken in the UK. United States.
Operational or underlying profit also fell 8.9% to 21.8 billion euros, but revenue grew 0.9% to 75.7 billion, which is in line with forecasts Factset badysts.
"We are swimming against the trend in the telecommunications sector" with "excellent numbers," said managing director, Tim Hoettges, at a press conference.
By 2019, the group indicated that it would stick to the forecast increase in average annual revenues last year of between 1% and 2% until the end of the year. in 2021, the adjusted operating profit should increase by 2 to 4% per year.
Telekom has highlighted the strong performance of its US T-Mobile division as a strong growth engine for the company, with revenue rising 6.8% to $ 43.1 billion (38%). billion euros), while operating profit grew almost twice as fast, up 13.6% to 11.9%. billion.
The group is still waiting for the green light from the US competition watchdogs for the US division to merge with competitor Sprint, hoping to complete the merger in the first half of this year.
At the same time, the former public supplier – privatized in 1996 – announced that it was planning 13 billion euros of investments in 2019, a "small amount" for the sector, has said Hoettges.
This year, the largest source of funding will build next-generation 5G networks in Germany, with operators ready to bid from March on the required spectrum.
– Huawei question –
The question of whether Germany will follow the Australian and New Zealand example by banning network equipment from the Chinese operator Huawei, sparked by fears over its alleged intelligence links with Beijing.
While Vodafone announced that it would remove Huawei's technology from its main network in Germany, Telekom announced in December that it would "re-examine its partnership" with the Shenzhen company, which has few competitors in the field .
"This situation worries the government, it's a political process, there are voices on both sides," said Hoettges on Thursday, adding that "the important arguments are not only political, but also commercial".
At the same time, Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica (O2) all filed suit against the German grid regulator 5G, claiming that officials had asked operators to invest unreasonable amounts for infrastructure in the country. their attempt to eliminate areas with no broadband connection.
While Telekom plans to increase its dividend for last year, to 70 cents per share, against 65 paid for 2017, the results did not delight investors.
In Frankfurt, equities lost 1.51% around 12:05 (11:05 GMT) to trade at 14.36 euros, against a DAX index of blue-chip stocks that was up 0.29%.
© 2019 AFP
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