Deutsche Telekom's chief executive is asking shareholders to show patience, pointing to the global credit crisis as a reason for the company's lackluster share price, an Associated Press report said.
Rene Obermann took over as head of Europe's biggest telecom company in late 2006. Last week, the company reported a rise in first-quarter net profit, but a decline in revenue, the report said.
Telekom shares, worth nearly €13.50 when Obermann took over, closed at €11.81 euros (US$18.29).
'I want to show shareholders what great potential our company has, and I want to make clear how great an effort we are making to increase the value of the company,' Obermann was quoted saying in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.
However, 'I can't perform magic,' he added. 'This is hard work that requires trust and patience.'
Obermann noted that Telekom shares performed strongly until January.
Obermann said that his company's marketing of Apple's iPhone in Germany, where it is available only with a two-year contract from Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit, has been 'attractive and profitable.'
He was quoted as saying that it has sold more than 100,000 of the devices in Germany so far.