The net revenue for the first quarter of 2021 was up 32.3% to €26.4 billion. The increase was a more modest 7.1% once the group adjusted for the acquisition and took exchange rate changes into account.
“We are sustaining momentum and continuing our successful growth story,” said CFO Christian Illek (pictured). “Our customer numbers and key financial metrics are on track on both sides of the Atlantic.”
However, adjustment had a negative effect on group profit. It was up 2.2% for the first quarter year-on-year to €936 million, but when adjusted to changes it was 6.5% down on 2020 — though this number was €1.2 billion.
As a result of the first-quarter figures, Deutsche Telekom says its full-year will be slightly better than previously suggested.
The Sprint takeover, which was completed in 1 April 2020, is “paying off sooner than expected”, said the group. “T-Mobile US now expects synergies from the transaction to reach US$2.8 to $3.1 billion in 2021.” That is $100 million more than the most recent forecast, it adds.
T-Mobile US’s customer base totalled 103.4 million as of 31 March 2021, up 1.4 million against the year-end. Of these customer additions, 773,000 were postpaid phone customers — again a record figure in the US wireless market, says the group.
In Germany, the company recorded 93,000 net broadband additions — 10,000 more than in the same period last year.
“The fibre build-out continues to be the basis for this success,” said the company. At the end of March 2021 it had 16.3 million lines providing fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) or fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC). “That is 1.5 million more than one year ago. In the quarter just ended, net additions stood at 368,000.”
The lack of roaming from visitors meant mobile service revenues were down year-on-year by 0.8%.
