Booming DSL growth is a major reason for the stabilization of Deutsche Telekom's fixed line business, said Kai-Uwe Ricke, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XII Conference. A second reason for Deutsche Telekom's on-going turnaround is that the company has made significant progress in improving its overall efficiency, reducing its size, and cutting its debt. Ricke is confident that DT's net income will be positive for the full year 2003 -- the first time it has achieved this positive result since 2000. The company's overall debt has fallen from a high of EUR 64.3 billion to EUR 53.0 billion. Some highlights:
- Deutsche Telekom is number one in Europe for DSL. The company's T-Com division has over 3.7 million DSL subscribers. The company expects to reach 4.2 million DSL subscribers by the end of the year. Compared to the first half of 2002, DSL wholesale traffic revenues have increased by 40%, while DSL retail traffic revenues are up by 190%.
- T-Mobile USA continues to outperform its peers in the U.S. market for adding new users. The subscriber base has now passed 10 million. The company credited it reputation for value and innovation for its subscriber growth. Ricke also believes T-Mobile USA has achieved a cost-advantage over its competitors because it has one network, one billing platform, etc.
- In August 2003, Deutsche Telekom reported half-year 2003 revenues of EUR 27.2 billion, up by EUR 5.0 billion compared to last year. Net income also rose by EUR 5.0 billion to a positive EUR 1.1 billion.
In November 2002, Kai-Uwe Ricke was named as Deutsche Telekom's new CEO. Ricke previously served as chief operating officer of T-Mobile International.
