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Profit coup

March 6, 2014

Following years of restructuring problems, German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom has finally turned the corner, logging full-year profits. Growth was in no small way driven by its US subsidiary.

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Deutsche Telekom logo
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Deutsche Telekom said March 6 it had fully met its 2013 targets, thus living up to expectations by analysts who'd penciled in earnings after years of bottom-line losses.

The company reported a net profit of 930 million euros ($1.3 billion) for last year, compared with a bottom-line loss 5.35 billion euros in 2012.

"We reached our financial targets for 2013, and building on our success last year, we plan to invest further in growth," the company's new Chief Executive, Tim Höttges, said in a statement.

Shareholders not amused

Höttges added that last year's growth was mainly attributable to business in the United States where T-Mobile US had succeeded in securing a lot more customers after the takeover of regional competitor MetroPCS and an aggressive recruitment policy.

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T-Mobile US attracted about two million new clients last year, also because of a deal allowing the subsidiary to sell iPhones with its packages.

Deutsche Telekom's sales increased by 3.4 percent in 2013 to 60.13 billion euros, but despite the positive results, investors will have to swallow a bitter pill. The company announced it would pay shareholders a dividend of half a euro per share, down from 70 cents a year earlier.

hg/hc (AFP, dpa, Reuters)