Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on February 26, 2025
By Marleen Kaesebier
(Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom shares fell on Wednesday after the company's earnings for 2024 and its forecasts for the current year fell short of expectations.
The shares were down 3.8% by 0828 GMT and were at the bottom of the German blue chip index. They are up about 21% year to date, based on LSEG data.
Deutsche Telekom reported annual adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation after leases of 43 billion euros ($45.12 billion), in line with its November forecast, marking a 6.2% increase from the previous year.
Analysts, polled by the company, had projected earnings of 43.2 billion euros.
"After such a good run, there may be some near-term profit taking on in line guidance," analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note. "In Germany delays to Govt IT spend and handsets weighed on revenues with softer broadband net adds."
Deutsche Telekom expects adjusted EBITDA AL for the 2025 financial year to be around 44.9 billion euros, in line with mid-term targets at its Capital Markets Day last October.
This forecast is lower than the 46 billion euros predicted by analysts in the company's own survey. The difference was partly due to different exchange rates on which the forecasts were based, a company spokesperson said.
"Another record year for Deutsche Telekom," CEO Tim Hoettges said in a statement. "We are growing across all business areas."
T-Mobile US, Deutsche Telekom's New York-listed subsidiary, last month forecast robust subscriber growth for 2025 and posted industry-leading fourth-quarter wireless subscriber growth.
In its home market, Deutsche Telekom added 1.2 million new customers in Germany in 2024. By December 2024, the company had an 11.6% increase in mobile customers and a 7.2% rise in TV customers compared with the previous year.
In the fourth quarter, total revenue in Germany declined by 0.2%, with the break-up of the country's coalition government having a noticeable effect, with fewer public contracts awarded, the company spokesperson said.
After Germany's national elections on Sunday, Hoettges joined other German business leaders in calling for the swift formation of a new government.
The German government currently holds a 28% stake in Deutsche Telekom, having reduced its shares with voting rights by just over 3% last June.
Deutsche Bank analyst Robert Grindle said last week that the government could sell part of its stake to fund investment programmes.
($1 = 0.9531 euros)
(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier in Gdansk and Hakan Ersen in Frankfurt; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Jane Merriman)
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