D.Telekom CFO says on track to reach FY goals-paper
FRANKFURT, June 29 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) remains on track to reach its 2009 goals as it sees an improvement in foreign markets in the second half, its finance chief told a German newspaper.
"We are well on track to meet our full-year targets for operating earnings and free cash flow but no one should expect any miracles in the second quarter," CFO Timotheus Hoettges said in an interview to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung provided to Reuters on Monday before publication on Tuesday.
Asked about a possible sale of its British subsidiary, which Telekom had to write down by 1.8 billion euros ($2.52 billion) in May, Hoettges said there was "no ban" on thinking about possible options.
"There are too many players" in the British mobile phone services market, the CFO said in the interview, predicting there would be consolidation in the long term.
Operating results in that market should improve in the second half, he said.
The company's German broadband Internet business, however, was doing well, because an increasing number of customers that had switched providers were returning, the CFO added.
Synergies from the integration of Greek telecoms operator OTE (OTEr.AT) would be bigger than the 200 million euros initially anticipated and the figure could eventually be 50 to 100 million euros above that, Hoettges was also quoted as saying. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Gary Hill)
