Financial & Performance
All the latest news, insight and analysis regarding the financials and performance of leading telecoms and infra organisations.
Altice France clears €8.6bn in debt and opens door to SFR sale
Embattled French group firms up major business restructure seeing founder Patrick Drahi reduce his stake, group of creditors gain a 45%-holding, and former Vodafone CEO Nick Read join Board of Directors as part of a governance rejig.
Eutelsat shareholders inject funds to cut debt, boost LEO buildout
Satellite operator’s Board of Directors given the go-ahead for capital increase at Annual General Meeting, with plans to utilise funding to deleverage and advance satellite constellation ambitions.
Safaricom scaleup Circle Gas faces ‘severe but plausible’ funding crunch
Kenyan cooking gas investment continues to post substantial losses despite showing some fruit from a major restructure, with new funding required to ensure expansion plans can go ahead…
Telco CEOs turn up heat on Europe’s regulators as Draghi report turns one
FT Connect Europe Forum: Discussions turn technical as telco CEOs call for fundamental changes to the way sector regulations are applied, including a move from ex ante to ex post.
DT resets on cost and consumers, after German jolt
Q2 FY25: Enlarged, US-driven telco titan remains on track for near- and mid-term goals. But with DT experiencing a slowdown in competition-hit home market, and with macro worries pervading, execs indicate they may now push harder on cost reduction and AI-led transformation.
BT’s Kirkby pulls no punches in review of UK regulatory, fiscal policy
Connected Britain: Allison Kirkby lets loose on Downing Street policy, with greater fiscal certainty needed to fund much-needed infra investment and AI adoption. Regulatory policy comes in for inevitable criticism too, as the BT boss sets the scene for the Chancellor’s upcoming Budget and Ofcom’s pending Telecoms Access Review…
Magenta Telekom boss freshens team with new finance, HR chiefs
Austrian operator’s recently-appointed chief exec Thomas Kicker draws on parent Deutsche Telekom’s talent pool to fill CFO and CHRO vacancies.
Guidance: DT jolted, but still in the comfort zone
Squall in Germany insufficient to blow DT supertanker off course, especially with T-Mobile US continuing to perform strongly and expand through M&A.
Spend: DT's Höttges previews ‘audacious’ new AI goals
Q2 FY25: Group Chief Executive indicates fresh, high-level talks are taking place within DT on an ambitious revamp of AI savings targets. How far to raise the bar remains an open question among top execs, though.
Headlines: DT keeps poise despite German stumble
Q2 FY25: Group remains on track for key annual and mid-term targets despite drop in form in home market.
Fibrus focuses on journey towards breakeven as revenue and EBITDA grow
In conversation: Fibrus CFO talks virtues of the altnet’s integrated business model as it reports steadily rising earnings and nears positive cash flow. Fibre ARPU ‘walk-up’ ongoing, but potential bolt-ons are under consideration…
Orange faces union disquiet over plan to simplify French operations
The ‘Regain’ plan is now in the consultation phase, but unions are unhappy with multiple aspects of the proposals. No job cuts are planned, but the number of departments could be slashed to four, and five major centres replaced by nine smaller ones.
Tesco Mobile delivers on growth despite ‘highly competitive’ conditions
UK’s largest MVNO reports forward progress on users, sales, and profit in the face of strong competition.
TPG: Vodafone up for £360m windfall as Oz outpost splashes the cash
Following the multi-billion-dollar sale of its fixed assets, TPG Telecom is initiating a major capital return. The “novel and complex” AUD 3bn plan is designed to reward major shareholders while courting minority investors and improving the telco’s stock exchange and credit profile. It also boasted a cracking H1…
Legendary corporate raider reveals 3% Vodafone stake
Deep Dive: Following Liberty Global’s sharp exit, billionaire Martin Ebner has emerged as a prominent shareholder. The investor, known for forcing major change at Swiss firms, is now fourth on the shareholder roster, leaving the market to ponder the activist’s next move.