Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE, Financial)(3.2%) (DTE GR – $17.77/ €15.87 – Frankfurt Stock Exchange) is the incumbent German telecom provider, with substantial international holdings in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the U.S. In Germany, Deutsche Telekom has been aggressively rolling out both fiber-to-the-home technology and its 4G mobile network in order to maintain its quality gap with competitors. This is having the desired impact on operating metrics, with, for example, a doubling of fiber subscriber net additions compared to last year. While in the short term this may be adversely impacting margins, Deutsche Telekom has arrested and reversed market share losses in Germany which is critical to long-term success. In mobile, domestic pricing has broadly stabilized and the market should begin to see the benefits of the in-market consolidation transaction between Telefonica Deutschland and E-Plus. The company’s European businesses have yet to turn the corner in terms of revenue and EBITDA with a number of the markets still under pressure from macro conditions. For much of the past two years, the Deutsche Telekom story has been dominated by the strong performance of T-Mobile US and the implied value of that asset to the parent company. The 2Q organic revenue and EBITDA gains in the U.S., of 13.7% and 22.8% respectively, were well ahead of expectations and served as the source of outperformance for the group as a whole. Beyond the convincing U.S. numbers, speculation continues unabated about possible bids for T-Mobile from any of a variety of parties. Deutsche Telekom’s shares have been amongst the most resilient in the European telecom sector, in part underpinned by a secure current return of 3.4%.
From GAMCO's Global Telecommunications Fund third quarter 2015 shareholder commentary.
