Development of selected financial data
Net revenue, service revenue a
- Net revenue increased by 3.4 % to EUR 115.8 billion. In organic terms, net revenue increased by 3.3 %. Service revenue increased by 3.9 % to EUR 96.5 billion. In organic terms, net revenue increased by 3.7 %.
- The Germany segment increased revenue by 2.1 % year-on-year on the back of the strong development of service revenues.
- In the United States segment, higher service revenues drove revenue growth of 3.6 %, or 3.3 % on an organic basis.
- Revenue in our Europe segment grew by 4.7 %, or by 5.2 % on an organic basis, on account of higher service revenues.
- Revenue in the Systems Solutions segment was up 2.8 % year-on-year, on the back of growth in the Digital, Cloud, and Road Charging areas.
billions of €
EBITDA AL (adjusted for special factors) a
- Adjusted EBITDA AL grew by 6.2 % to EUR 43.0 billion. In organic terms, it increased by 6.0 %.
- In the Germany segment, adjusted EBITDA AL increased by 2.7 % on the back of high-value revenue growth and enhanced cost efficiency.
- Adjusted EBITDA AL in our United States segment increased by 8.1 %, or 7.4 % in organic terms. This strong growth is primarily attributable to higher service revenues and lower costs.
- Adjusted EBITDA AL in the Europe segment grew by 7.7 %, or by 8.1 % in organic terms, due to a positive net margin.
- Adjusted EBITDA AL in the Systems Solutions segment grew sharply by 14.8 %, mainly on the back of revenue growth in the Cloud and Digital areas.
- At 37.2 %, the adjusted EBITDA AL margin increased by 1.0 percentage points against the prior year. The adjusted EBITDA AL margin was 40.9 % in the Germany segment, 38.0 % in the United States segment, and 35.9 % in the Europe segment.
billions of €
Profit/loss from operations (EBIT) a
- EBIT decreased substantially by EUR 7.5 billion to EUR 26.3 billion, mainly as a result of the gain on deconsolidation from the sale of GD Towers recognized in the prior year.
- Special factors were down by EUR 9.9 billion, and had an impact of EUR 0.8 billion on EBITDA AL. The prior year included gains on deconsolidations as well as disposals and additions, totaling EUR 12.2 billion on a net basis, primarily from the sale of GD Towers. The reporting year includes reversals of impairment losses of EUR 2.6 billion resulting from the full reversal of impairment losses recognized in previous years on FCC licenses at T‑Mobile US.
- At EUR 24.0 billion, depreciation, amortization and impairment losses were on a par with the prior-year level. Impairment losses amounted to EUR 0.1 billion and were mainly attributable to non-current assets in the Europe segment. In the prior year, impairment losses amounted to EUR 0.2 billion and related primarily to assets in the Systems Solutions and the Group Headquarters & Group Services segments.
billions of €
Net profit
- Net profit decreased by EUR 6.6 billion to EUR 11.2 billion, mainly due to the gain on deconsolidation from the sale of GD Towers in the prior year.
- Loss from financial activities decreased by EUR 5.5 billion to EUR 3.3 billion, mainly as a result of the reversals of impairment losses on our investments in GD Towers and in GlasfaserPlus, which had been impaired in the prior year on account of lower discount rates.
- Tax expense came to EUR 5.3 billion compared with EUR 3.0 billion in the prior year.
- Profit attributable to non-controlling interests increased by EUR 2.2 billion to EUR 6.4 billion; a trend mainly attributable to the United States segment.
- Adjusted earnings per share amounted to EUR 1.90 compared with EUR 1.60 in the prior year.
billions of €
For a reconciliation for the organic development of key figures for the prior year, please refer to the section “Additional information.”
ROCE
- ROCE (return on capital employed) decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 8.5 %. This was due to a reduction in net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT), while the average amount of net operating assets (NOA) remained almost constant over the year.
- The decline in NOPAT is mainly due to the sale of GD Towers in the prior year, and was offset only partially by the aforementioned impairment reversals on our investments as well as on the FCC licenses held by T‑Mobile US.
%
Net debt b
- Net debt increased by EUR 5.0 billion to EUR 137.3 billion.
- In particular the share buy-back programs at T‑Mobile US (EUR 10.4 billion) and at Deutsche Telekom AG (EUR 2.0 billion), exchange rate effects (EUR 6.2 billion), and dividend payments – including to non-controlling interests (EUR 5.6 billion) – had an increasing effect. Additions to lease liabilities and to right-of-use assets (EUR 3.8 billion), the acquisition of spectrum (EUR 3.2 billion), and corporate transactions (EUR 0.9 billion) also had an increasing effect.
- The main reducing factors were free cash flow (before dividend payments and spectrum investment) of EUR 24.1 billion, and the sale of T‑Mobile US shares by Deutsche Telekom in the amount of EUR 3.6 billion.
billions of €
Cash capex (before spectrum investment)
- Cash capex (before spectrum investment) decreased by EUR 0.6 billion to EUR 16.0 billion.
- In the United States segment, cash capex (before spectrum investment) decreased by EUR 0.8 billion as a result of higher cash outflows for the accelerated build-out of the 5G network in the prior year. This was partially offset by an increase in cash capex (before spectrum investment) in the Germany (EUR 0.2 billion) and Europe (EUR 0.1 billion) segments.
- Cash capex (including spectrum investment) increased by EUR 1.3 billion to EUR 19.2 billion. In the reporting year, the United States and Europe segments paid a total amount of EUR 3.2 billion to acquire spectrum licenses. In the prior year, payments for spectrum licenses related mainly to the United States (EUR 0.1 billion) and Europe (EUR 0.3 billion) segments.
billions of €
Free cash flow AL (before dividend payments and spectrum investment)
- Free cash flow AL (before dividend payments and spectrum investment) increased from EUR 16.1 billion to EUR 19.2 billion.
- The strong development of the operating business, lower cash outflows in connection with the integration of Sprint in the United States, and lower cash capex (before spectrum investment) in particular had a positive effect.
- An increase in cash outflows for the repayment of lease liabilities had a negative effect.
billions of €
For further information, please refer to the sections “Development of business in the Group” and “Development of business in the operating segments” in the combined management report, and to the IR back-up on our Investor Relations website.
For further information on our performance indicators and alternative performance measures, please refer to the section “Management of the Group” in the combined management report and our Investor Relations website.
a aFor information on the presentation of the sold GD Towers business entity in the prior year, please refer to the section “Management of the Group” in the combined management report.
b bIncluding net debt reported under liabilities directly associated with non-current assets and disposal groups held for sale.