Deutsche Telekom disappointed the market today after a problem-plagued road toll system it is helping to develop pushed the group into a fourth-quarter net loss.
Deutsche Telekom,Europe's top telephone carrier, said its net loss in the quarter came in at €364 million as it took a one-off €442 million charge to cover losses at the Toll Collect project in Germany.
Stripping out the charge, the company's core earnings met forecasts. But investors had hoped Telekom might beat expectations and bring forward a payout by one year.
Net debt fell to €46.6 billion, helped by the rise of the euro against the dollar and an asset sale in the fourth quarter, and free cash flow rose to a solid €8.3 billion.
Deutsche Telekom repeated that it was aiming for €19.2 billion in 2004 in adjusted earnings, up from €18.3 billion in 2003.