1 Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents increased by EUR 1.5 billion year-on-year to EUR 7.3 billion.

For further information, please refer to Note 37 “Notes to the consolidated statement of cash flows.”

Cash and cash equivalents have an original maturity of less than three months and mainly comprise fixed-term bank deposits. They also include small amounts of cash-in-hand and checks. Deutsche Telekom obtained cash collateral of EUR 39 million (December 31, 2022: EUR 156 million) on the basis of collateral contracts as surety for potential credit risks arising from derivative transactions.

As of December 31, 2023, Deutsche Telekom reported cash and cash equivalents of EUR 104 million (December 31, 2022: EUR 87 million) that is not freely available to Deutsche Telekom, mainly relating to liabilities issued by T‑Mobile US and collateralized by assets, as well as cash balances held by the subsidiaries in Russia. These cash balances are not fully available for use by Deutsche Telekom AG or other Group companies.