Deutsche Telekom’s positive 2009 revenues can do little to hide a 76.2% fall in net profit during the year.
The telco today reported a 4.8% year-on-year increase in revenues to €64.6 billion in 2009, but the figure masks the fact that net profit fell from €1.4 billion in 2008, to just €353 million in 2009.
Like many European telcos, the firm is struggling to stay competitive in a tough market, as evidenced by the fact domestic revenues fell 2.9% to €28 billion year-on-year in 2009, while international revenues grew 11.6% to €36 billion.
However it did see a slight rebound during Q409 that boosted its full year figures.
CEO René Obermann says Deutsche Telekom will continue to focus on cutting costs to maintain profitability through 2010. “Cost discipline was key to getting through economically challenging times. However, we did not save at the expense of the future, but continued to invest heavily,“ he states.