The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Deutsche Telekom AG posted higher operating profit in the first quarter, propelled by forecast-beating US growth that’s making up for slower momentum back home in Germany, where Europe’s biggest phone company faces emerging competitive threats.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after leases grew 8.3% to 5.94 billion euros ($6.65 billion). The figure, which eliminates accounting changes related to leases, was slightly below the average forecast of 5.97 billion euros in a company-compiled survey of analysts. The company confirmed its outlook for the year. It expects adjusted Ebitda AL of about 23.9 billion euros and free cash flow AL of about 6.7 billion euros.
US unit T-Mobile has beaten earnings estimates for 13 straight quarters, supporting the German parent company’s argument that the business will still prosper even if regulators block its $26.5 billion takeover of US rival Sprint Corp.
Raymond James analysts cut the chances for approval to 55 percent from 80 percent last week. Back home, a four-way bidding war for fifth-generation mobile spectrum threatens to inflate Deutsche Telekom’s capital spending burden in coming years.
The Bonn-based company faces renewed competitive pressure in Germany, where it lost contract and fixed-network customers compared to the previous three months.