CAPTION: The Deutsche Telekom logo lights up on the roof of the company's headquarters. (picture alliance/dpa/archive)
The German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom plans to put more money into expanding its network in 2019, a year when the first frequencies for the new 5G mobile phone standard are due to be auctioned off.
Around 12.7 billion euros are to be invested in broadband and mobile networks this year, a spokesman for the DAX-listed company said on Thursday in Bonn. Last year, it was 12.2 billion euros on a comparable basis.
The extra investments will mostly be made in the United States, however. Putting aside its US business, the corporation is aiming for investments of 7.9 billion euros and thus a bit less than in 2018.
Deutsche Telekom benefited substantially from the growth of its US subsidiary T-Mobile last year. The group-wide earnings - adjusted for special items - rose in 2018 by 5 per cent to 23.3 billion euros, when compared to the year before. The US mobile phone division contributed more than 40 per cent of the earnings and was largely responsible for the increase.
Net profit, however, declined by more than a third to 2.2 billion euros last year. In the fourth quarter, Deutsche Telekom slid into the red mainly because of write-offs on its European business. In 2017, special income in the billions of euros due to a US tax reform had also positively impacted the company's numbers.
The dividend is nevertheless due to increase by 5 cents per share to 70 cents, as expected. Revenue rose by 0.9 per cent to 75.7 billion euros.
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