Accounting policies
In accordance with § 115 of the Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz – WpHG), Deutsche Telekom AG’s half-year financial report comprises interim consolidated financial statements and an interim management report for the Group as well as a responsibility statement pursuant to § 297 (2) sentence 4 and § 315 (1) sentence 5 of the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch – HGB). The interim consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) applicable to interim financial reporting as adopted by the EU. The interim management report for the Group was prepared in accordance with WpHG.
Statement of compliance
The interim consolidated financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2021 are in compliance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34. As permitted by IAS 34, it has been decided to publish a condensed version compared to the consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2020. All IFRSs applied by Deutsche Telekom AG have been adopted by the European Commission for use within the EU.
In the opinion of the Board of Management, the reviewed half-year financial report includes all standard adjustments to be applied on an ongoing basis that are required to give a true and fair view of the results of operations and financial position of the Group. Please refer to the notes to the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2020 for the accounting policies applied for the Group’s financial reporting.
Initial application of standards, interpretations, and amendments in the reporting period
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Pronouncement |
Title |
To be applied by Deutsche Telekom from |
Changes |
Expected impact on the presentation of Deutsche Telekom’s results of operations and financial position |
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IFRSs endorsed by the EU |
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Amendments to IFRS 16 |
Covid-19-related Rent Concessions |
Jan. 1, 2021a |
Practical expedient for lessee accounting of rent concessions granted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of assessing whether a rent concession is a lease modification, the lessee may account for the changes in lease payments as if they were not lease modifications. |
Practical expedient not applied by Deutsche Telekom. |
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Amendments to IFRS 4 |
Insurance Contracts – deferral of IFRS 9 |
Jan. 1, 2021 |
Deferral of first-time application of IFRS 9 for insurance companies. |
No impact. |
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Amendments to IFRS 9, IAS 39 and IFRS 7, IFRS 4 and IFRS 16 |
Interest Rate Benchmark Reform (Phase 2) |
Jan. 1, 2021 |
The amendments address the impact of modifications of financial instruments required as a direct consequence of the IBOR reform, hedge accounting requirements, and the accompanying disclosures. |
No material impact expected. |
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Thanks to intensive preparatory and implementation work, the reform of interbank offered rates (IBORs) is currently generating low residual risks regarding the timing of implementation and the precise content of the planned changes for individual contracts concluded in foreign currencies. Deutsche Telekom is affected by this uncertainty in its hedging of interest rate and currency risks in designated fair value and cash flow hedges where certain IBORs are part of the hedging relationship (EURIBOR, USD-LIBOR, GBP-LIBOR, and CHF-LIBOR). Group Treasury continuously analyzes the latest developments and takes any additional steps needed to transition to the new interest rate benchmarks. EONIA has already been transitioned to €STR, while specific implementation work is currently being prepared for the currencies CHF, GBP, and JPY. The transition date for all other currencies affected by the reform will depend on the relevant market liquidity of the new risk free rates. For the USD-LIBOR, the market is expected to make the switch by mid-2023.
For more information on standards, interpretations, and amendments that have been issued but not yet applied, as well as disclosures on the recognition and measurement of items in the statement of financial position and discretionary decisions and estimation uncertainties, please refer to the section “Summary of accounting policies” in the notes to the consolidated financial statements in the 2020 Annual Report.
Changes in accounting policies and changes in the reporting structure
Deutsche Telekom did not make any major changes to its accounting policies in the reporting period.
Effective January 1, 2021, Deutsche Telekom reassigned the responsibility for business and profit and loss for Deutsche Telekom IoT GmbH from the Systems Solutions operating segment to the business customer unit in the Germany operating segment. Deutsche Telekom IoT GmbH is responsible for the IoT business of Deutsche Telekom. This reassignment makes it possible to serve the IoT market more quickly and thus to strengthen Deutsche Telekom’s position on this growth market. Prior-year comparatives in both of the segments affected have accordingly been adjusted retrospectively in segment reporting.
As of January 1, 2021, Deutsche Telekom reassigned the Austrian cell tower business from the Europe operating segment to GD Towers in the Group Development operating segment to enhance the management efficiency in cell tower business. In addition, GD Towers will increase its efforts to expand third-party business, increase profitability, and develop growth areas. Furthermore, Deutsche Telekom IT (DT IT) Russia, DT IT Slovakia, and DT IT Hungary were reassigned from the Germany operating segment to the Group Headquarters & Group Services segment effective January 1, 2021. Prior-year comparatives in the segments affected have not been adjusted retrospectively, since the effects are immaterial for the Group and the costs for preparing the adjustment would outweigh the benefit.