Deutsche Telekom sees itself on course. Europe’s largest telecommunications company, wants to continue to grow and billions to invest. However, the stock market is not enough.
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Deutsche Telekom is a lawsuit against 5G-auction
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Deutsche Telekom is a lawsuit against 5G-auction
Tie is back in. At least with Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom (article image). Like other Top-Manager Höttges, has for the past five years, the fortunes of the European Telecom market leader in Hand did not, at last, the accessory is popular with him again anyway. Of his looseness of the wire Manager has lost but nothing, it seems to give him joy, to explain the figures of last year in front of the journalists. Numbers are his thing, after all, he was, before he was appointed as the Chairman of the Board, for five years chief financial officer of the group.
So please: In the past financial year, the group exceeded most of its targets. The profit before taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) grew organically by over seven percent to 23.8 billion Euro, the revenue increased mainly thanks to a thriving U.S. business, the subsidiary T-Mobile U.S. by 3.1 percent to more than 75 billion euros. Organ means: at the same exchange rates and the same group structure or how to put it Höttges: “So that you can compare Apples with Apples and pears with pears.” But one could also say: Organic just looks better, because it takes into account the exchange rates, etc., instead of would be the sales growth instead of 3.1, only 0.9 per cent and Ebitda at five in the organic seven percent.
Two in One: Come together T-Mobile US and Sprint?
Fight for US-Fusion
But on balance, the consolidated net income, it doesn’t look quite as good, with only about 4.5 billion Euro at the end of in the balance sheet that is a quarter less than the year before. The reason sits in the White house: The tax reform of the US President, Donald Trump had also flushed the Deutsche Telekom 2017 quite a bit of money in the coffers, which is missing now. “We would welcome it if there was something every year,” says Höttges in the direction of Washington.
The telecoms boss has just returned from the United States, he was but not because of a tax reform, but because he needs to advertise for the planned merger of the US-subsidiary T-Mobile US, with the US operator Sprint – a 26-billion-Dollar Deal that would make the Telecom in the US, number Three in the market. Just a lot of hurdles are there to overcome, the least influential US senators had expressed their concerns that this would lead to job losses and perhaps even technology of the Chinese network supplier Huawei and ZTE to use would be. Also, the government is at a standstill (“Shutdown”) have slowed down in January, the negotiations.
Audio 05 listen:09
Interview with Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges for the balance of fiscal year 2018
Now Höttges was able to report that for the planned merger, the Okay of the security authority CIFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) and other approvals of authorities from the United States. Therefore, he expects to be able to the Deal in the second quarter was a great success.
Network expansion with pitfalls
In Germany, especially the Expansion of the mobile network employs the chief Executive officer. Since a majority of the 12 billion euros that has invested in the Telekom in the past year flowed, when it comes to LTE – or 4G-network refers to Höttges on a cover of 98 percent. Today, you run already of 27,000 mobile radio antennas, in the year 2000 to come. However, resistance in many places, Höttges reported from Stuttgart, Germany, where against most of the planned new 70 antennas opposition from all sides was inserted.
Lot of work to do: mobile network expansion in Germany
And also in the Development of the future 5G network, it is not Höttges fast enough. He criticised the fact that Germany had for the exceptionalism of a frequency auction and is not for a sale decided. Against the guidelines for the auction of Urgency, are already before the court of the Telecom competitors Vodafone and Telefonica, today Höttges, Telekom will connect this Eilanträgen. Whether this will lead to a delay of the March planned auction, not could he say, his information, according to the Federal network Agency’s adherence to the schedule.
Höttges renewed his concerns against the requirements of the policy, 5G roll out nationwide to the last corner. He did something about it, € 15,000 “for a Mast in the Bavarian forest”, “once a day a car comes by”. If the Smartphone is then also from the competitors, will the thing be completely uneconomical. Here, the policy asked, to find solutions to the cost-sharing, perhaps through state funding.
And what about Huawei?
Technically it was the new technology, which will be the Basis for the “Internet of things” or Autonomous Driving, well, also with the strategic Partner, SK Telecom of South Korea, has rolled out the new network. From this experience, the telecoms could benefit. But, of course, arises here, as elsewhere, the question: And what is with the controversial Chinese equipment supplier Huawei? May be fitted in the components to the new network or not? The Federal government is examining at this time there, and Tim Höttges is diplomatically: “most important is the safety of our infrastructure,” this has always been the principle number One, and it’ll stay that way.
The Telekom continued with Eriksson, Nokia, Cisco and Huawei on different suppliers and not depend on a single supplier. Whatever the policy decisions in this question, will you support it.
But back to the Numbers: of Course the Telekom wants to stay in the current year in the road to success. But the next, possibly billions of expensive 5G auction, the billion-Deal in the US and also possible Brexit-turbulence, Höttges and his Board a little more cautious view: While Ebitda is currently expected to be only an increase of 700 million euros. Analysts called the Outlook conservative, the stock belonged, therefore, with a Minus of 1.5 percent to the final lights in the German stock index Dax. Tim Höttges, the optimists, just a snapshot, nothing more.