Deutsche Telekom posts €5.3bn net loss Deutsche Telekom, the German telecoms group, declared itself to be "on the offensive" with a package of costly investments in next generation networks as well as in its domestic mobile market that caused lower-than-expected earnings for the full year. Deutsche Telekom met its financial targets for 2012, and confirmed its dividend of 70 euro cents per share, but adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €18bn, down 3.8 per cent compared with 2011, missed analysts" forecasts. "We are going on the offensive - with extensive investments in networks and in the market," said René Obermann, chief executive of Deutsche Telekom. For 2012, we are delivering sound balance sheet figures, we plan to pay a stable dividend, and we have reduced net debt by more than €3bn to €36.9bn. The US business mitigated some of its contract losses, although service revenue dropped 9.2 per cent over the year owing to a move to cheaper customer plans and earnings dropped 26 per cent in a fiercely competitive market where the group has yet to match rivals with the launch of the latest iPhone. Customer numbers rose at T-Mobile USA for the first time since 2009, however. The group made a €200m additional investment in its German mobile business in the quarter in a bid to move customers to higher cost data plans, which helped improve its branded contract net addition customers to 226,000 in the fourth quarter of 2012, from 149,000 in the quarter the year before. The costs of this weighed on its earnings, however, with adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 30.9 per cent, a decline of around 0.9 percentage points year-on-year. This was also affected by competitive and price pressure and regulatory decisions. Deutsche Telekom made a net loss of €5.3bn, a fall of €0.8bn in the quarter and down from a profit of €557m last year, attributable to an impairment loss in the third quarter of 2012 of €7.4bn owing to the planned merger of T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS. Mr Obermann said: "This loss of billions is not what it appears to be. We are not lacking in funds to drive forward the development of the group. As we said in December, we want to massively step up investments in the future again, to almost €30bn for 2013 to 2015. Overall revenues was flat at €58.2bn, although organic revenue adjusted for exchange rate effects and changes in the composition of the group declined 2.7 per cent.