High-margin income from mobile phone customers rescued Deutsche Telekom's results as revenues stayed flat for the first quarter of 2010, the company reported today.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 1.6% compared with Q1 2009 to €4.9bn. With revenue down 0.6% to €15.8bn, the adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 0.6 percentage points to 30.9%. Adjusted net profit rose 36% year-on-year to €0.9bn while free cash flow trebled from €0.4bn a year ago to €1.4bn
Deutsche Telekom CEO René Obermann highlighted the surge in the profitability of the group's European mobile subsidiaries as well as sustained high demand for 3G-enabled converged devices at T-Mobile USA.
During the quarter Deutsche Telekom bought online payment service provider ClickandBuy, and finalised the merger of its UK mobile operation with France Telecom subsidiary Orange UK. It also launched Telekom Deutschland, now its integrated fixed-network and mobile operations in Germany.
Sales at T-Systems, its outsourcing division, rose 1.2% year-on-year to €2.1bn, driven by 5.7% growth in T-Systems' international business. This included big new deals with the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Deutsche Post DHL, TUI Travel, and Swiss Federal Railways.
| The Deutsche Telekom Group at a glance | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2010 €m | Q1 2009 €m | Change €m | Change % | FY 2009 m€ | |
| Net revenue | 15,812 | 15,902 | (90) | (0.6) | 64,602 |
| - Domestic | 6,739 | 6,943 | (204) | (2.9) | 28,033 |
| - International | 9,073 | 8,959 | 114 | 1.3 | 36,569 |
| Profit (loss) from operations (EBIT) | 2,029 | 244 | 1,785 | n.a. | 6,012 |
| Adjusted EBIT | 2,230 | 1,917 | 313 | 16.3 | 9,158 |
| EBITDA | 4,690 | 4,942 | (252) | (5.1) | 19,906 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 4,890 | 4,812 | 78 | 1.6 | 20,668 |
| Net profit (loss) | 767 | (1,124) | 1,891 | n.a. | 353 |
| Adjusted net profit (loss) | 891 | 655 | 236 | 36.0 | 3,390 |
| Free cash flow before dividend payments | 1,439 | 416 | 1,023 | n.a. | 6,969 |
| Net cash from operating activities | 3,271 | 2,966 | 305 | 10.3 | 15,795 |
| Cash outflows for investments in property, plant and equipment, and intangible assets (excluding goodwill) | 1,934 | 2,611 | (677) | (25.9) | 9,202 |
| Net debt at reporting date | 40,418 | 42,833 | (2,415) | (5.6) | 40,911 |
| Number of employees at reporting date | 258,240 | 260,798 | (2,558) | (1.0) | 259,920 |
