Deutsche Telekom said it had a strong start to 2020. Revenue increased 2.3 percent year-on-year to EUR 19.9 billion in the first quarter, and adjusted EBITDA after leasing rose 10.2 percent to EUR 6.5 billion. The German company said it sees the Covid-19 pandemic having only a limited impact on results and maintained its guidance for further growth in the full year.
CEO Tim Hoettges said the company was "an anchor of stability in a global crisis". While the pandemic may affect revenues, due to, for example, the closure of shops, lower roaming revenues, and companies postponing or canceling IT projects, it also sees voice telephony revenue increasing and the mobile churn rate falling. Overall, the impact on adjusted EBITDA is likely to be comparatively low, the company said.
Net profit in the first quarter reached EUR 916 million, up 1.8 percent from a year earlier. Free cash flow after leasing decreased 17.3 percent to EUR 1.3 billion, impacted by a reduction in factoring. Cash capex, excluding spectrum payments, was down 8.9 percent to EUR 3.4 billion.
Revenue growth in the period was again led by T-Mobile US, up 3.7 percent to EUR 10.2 billion thanks to the stronger dollar, after only 0.7 percent growth in local currency. In Germany, revenue rose 0.9 percent to EUR 5.4 billion, and in the rest of Europe, revenues improved 0.4 percent to EUR 2.9 billion.
