Deutsche Telekom: Q2 net profit plunges 35%

August 10, 2008 - 0:0
BEIJING (Xinhuanet) -- Citing the strength of the euro as one of several factors, Deutsche Telekom AG said Thursday its second quarter net profit plummeted 35 percent.      However, it maintained its full-year earnings forecast. ""We made good progress during the first half of the year in achieving our strategic objectives, both in operations and with our cost savings,"" said Rene Obermann, the company's chief executive in a statement.     The German company said net profit for the April-June period fell to 607 million U.S. dollars from a year earlier.      Revenues came in 3 percent lower at 23.25 billion dollars compared with a year earlier.      Pretax profit in the quarter fell nearly 30 percent to 1.4 billion dollars.      ""This leads us to assume that we will reach our financial targets in the 2008 financial year,"" Obermann said.      The company has said it expects it will maintain adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization at around 30 billion dollars and free cash flow before dividend payments at around 10 billion dollars, each on a par with the previous year.