Deutsche Telekom: Net profit, driven by America

Frankfurt (awp / afp) – Leading European telecoms group Deutsche Telekom on Thursday almost doubled its 2022 net result in a year, as it plans to improve its profits in 2023, driven by growth in its US operations.

Net profit Group share in 2022 was 8.0 billion euros (7.9 billion Swiss francs), an increase of 92% year-on-year, according to a press release.

Overall sales rose 6.1% year-on-year to 114.4 billion euros and the key performance indicator, adjusted operating profit (EBITDA), rose almost 8% to 40.2 billion euros. These performances can be explained by a particularly strong dollar last year.

The group is targeting adjusted EBITDA of more than 40.8 billion euros this year.

In 2022, US subsidiary T-Mobile generated adjusted operating income of 25.6 billion euros through the acquisition of 6.4 million new customers.

The company, which the group has unsuccessfully tried to sell in the past, remains its main source of profit today, despite a $5 billion merger with its US subsidiary Sprint in 2022.

Expenditures should come down to Rs 1 billion this year.

In Germany, sales increased by 2% year-on-year, driven by new mobile phone plans and a broadband offer.

The group continued its business divestment to reduce its high debt and free up funds to invest in infrastructure, particularly 5G antennas, and to consolidate control of its US operation T-Mobile.

The sale of its majority stake in a subsidiary dedicated to mobile towers to Brookfield and DigitalBridge investment funds for about 10.7 billion euros was completed in February.

Deutsche Telekom is not immune to the “upheavals of the world,” but “by continuing to execute our strategy, we still achieved all of our objectives for 2022,” Deutsche Telekom’s CEO Tim Höttges said in a press release.

Free cash flow, after investments, recorded 11.5 billion euros at the end of 2022 and is on target to cross 16 billion euros this year.

dpa/al