Deutsche Telekom posts €6.9-bn loss
08 Nov 2012
Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) posted operating profit and sales that beat analysts' estimates, even as €7.4-billion writedown on its T- Mobile USA operations saw the company end up with its biggest quarterly net loss in a decade.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell 2.6 per cent to €4.78 billion, as the Bonn-based company slowed a decline in revenue in European markets from Germany to Hungary.
The US operations continued to lose contract customers, but prepaid cards helped the business exceed profit estimates.
Third-quarter revenue was down 0.1 per cent to €14.7 billion. The net loss stood at €6.9 billion or €1.61 euros a share as against a profit of €1.07 billion euros, or ¢25 cents, a year earlier, according to Deutsche Telekom.
The €7.4 billion after-tax impairment charge to reflect T-Mobile USA's value came by virtue of MetroPCS transaction, aimed at creating a listed company in which Deutsche Telekom would own a 74-per cent stake and give T-Mobile USA greater scope to compete with AT&T Inc, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp.
T-Mobile USA lost 492,000 contract customers and the US division's adjusted Ebitda was down 3 per cent to 994 million euros, as against 961 million euros projected by analysts.
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