Solid growth
Telekom wants to “go the extra mile”
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Deutsche Telekom reports rock-solid business. The Bonn-based company is gaining millions of customers on both sides of the Atlantic. The group is targeting a higher operating result for the current year.
With a robust balance sheet for 2023, Deutsche Telekom is looking to the future with optimism. “Thanks to our growing business on both sides of the Atlantic, we have the confidence to go one step further in 2024,” said company boss Tim Höttges. In their initial reactions, analysts spoke of solid figures with no surprises.
In the past few months, the Bonn-based Telekom Group has gained 1.2 million contract customers in Germany alone in the important mobile communications business. At the US subsidiary T-Mobile there were even 3.1 million. On this basis, Höttges forecast an increase in operating profit by six percent to 42.9 billion euros for 2024. Cash flow is expected to climb by 16 percent to 18.9 billion euros.
The business figures for the past year are currently in line with our own goals and market expectations. The adjusted operating result increased by four percent to 40.5 billion euros and the free cash flow increased by more than 40 percent to 16.1 billion euros. The latter is considered an indicator of the level of distributions to the owners. Last November, Telekom announced a ten percent increase in the dividend to 0.77 euros per share and a two billion euro share buyback.
Meanwhile, revenue fell by 2.1 percent to 112 billion euros for the year as a whole. Earnings after taxes and third parties doubled to 17.8 billion euros due to the special effect from the partial sale of the radio tower business. This corresponds to earnings per share of 3.57 euros.
Deutsche Telekom's numbers are described as decent in the trade. In contrast to the US subsidiary, which has already reported, business in this country does not look so good. However, the key indicators such as the operating result (EBITDA AL) are within the expected range and there are no visible surprises. The outlook sounds positive.
