(Bloomberg) — Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe’s largest telecommunications operator, said it plans to propose a buyback program of as much as €2 billion ($2.2 billion) for 2025 and will increase its dividend.
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The German phone carrier will propose a dividend of 90 cents per share for the 2024 financial year, up from 77 cents last year, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The dividend payment is subject to shareholder approval.
Deutsche Telekom is outperforming its peers in Europe, buoyed by subscriber growth at T-Mobile US Inc. where the company has a majority stake. The company said Thursday it may use its extra cash to continue increasing its stake in the US-based phone carrier or buy back shares.
“In recent years, our strategy has made us the undisputed number one in Europe,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Hoettges said in a statement. “We have achieved or even exceeded nearly all of our targets and are now worth more than all our peers on our domestic continent combined.”
Hoettges also said the carrier plans to deploy more artificial intelligence tools into it customer service operations, and the company will aim to reduce call volumes with self-service programs on an app or an AI-supported messenger service.
The company said annual growth for net revenue and service revenue is expected to hit about 4% through 2027. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and after leases is set to grow by an average of 4% to 6% per year.
Deutsche Telekom shares rose to €26.75 in Frankfurt trading on Wednesday. They have climbed about 23% so far this year.
(Updates with additional details throughout)
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