The Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom has decided to exercise the authorization to purchase shares in the Company granted by the shareholders' meeting on May 3, 2010 and will purchase shares up to a purchase price of EUR 400 million (excluding transaction costs). Based on the closing price of July 26th of EUR 10.255, that equates to around 39 million shares. By taking this step, the Board of Management is further pursuing its shareholder remuneration strategy that was announced on February 25, 2010. The company plans to pay around EUR 3.4 billion to its shareholders for each financial year from 2010 to 2012. The plan - subject to generation of the necessary unappropriated net income in Deutsche Telekom AG's annual financial statements and subject to the corresponding resolutions being passed by the relevant bodies - is for a dividend of at least EUR 0.70 per dividend-bearing share to be paid for each financial year from 2010 to 2012 and the remaining amount of up to EUR 400 million per year to be paid to shareholders in the form of share buy-backs. The launch of this share buy-back program ties in with the Board of Management's expectation that, provided the communicated targets for the year are achieved, it will recommend to the Supervisory Board and next shareholders' meeting payment of a dividend of EUR 0.70 per dividend-bearing share for the 2010 financial year. This would bring the total shareholder remuneration for the 2010 financial year, consisting of dividend payment and share buy-back, to the planned level of EUR 3.4 billion. The share buy-back is scheduled to begin on August 10, 2010 at the earliest - after the financial figures for the first half of 2010 have been published on August 5, 2010 -and to be completed by December 31, 2010 at the latest. The share buy-back is to be carried out in accordance with §14 (2) of the German Securities Trading Act in conjunction with EU Regulation 2273/2003 (so-called Safe Harbour). The details will be announced before the share buy-back begins. Based on the share price of EUR 10.255 on July 26, 2010, the share buyback would represent around 0.9 percent of Deutsche Telekom's capital stock. The shares are to be cancelled to contract Deutsche Telekom's balance sheet and to improve financial ratios such as earnings per share.
The shareholders' meeting of Deutsche Telekom AG on May 3, 2010 had granted the Board of Management authorization to buy-back shares of the Company up to a maximum of 10 percent of its capital stock. This authorization was limited to November 2, 2011. This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of Deutsche Telekom management with respect to future events. These also include statements on market potential, statements on finance guidance, as well as on the dividend outlook. They are generally identified by the terms "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "aim for," "goal," "plan," "will," "strive for," "outlook" or similar expressions and often include information that relates to net revenue expectations or targets for adjusted EBITDA, profit or loss, earnings performance and other indicators, as well as personnel-related measures and workforce adjustments. Forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections. They should therefore be considered with caution. Among the relevant factors are the progress of Deutsche Telekom's workforce reduction initiative, the restructuring of operating activities in Germany, and the impact of other significant strategic or business initiatives, including acquisitions, dispositions, business combinations, and cost reduction measures. In addition, regulatory decisions, stronger than expected competition, technological change, litigation and regulatory developments, among other factors, may have a material adverse effect on costs and revenue development. Furthermore, changes in the economic and business environments - for example, the current economic slump - in markets where we, our subsidiaries and affiliates operate, the enduring instability and volatility on the global financial markets, as well as exchange rate and interest rate fluctuations can also adversely affect our business development and the availability of capital at favorable terms. If these or other risks and uncertainties materialize, or if the assumptions underlying any of these statements prove incorrect, Deutsche Telekom's actual results may be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Deutsche Telekom can offer no assurance that its expectations or targets will be met. Deutsche Telekom does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements to take new information or future events into account or otherwise. Deutsche Telekom does not reconcile its adjusted EBITDA guidance to a GAAP measure because it would require unreasonable effort to do so. As a rule, Deutsche Telekom does not predict the net effect of future special factors due to their uncertainty. Special factors and interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (including impairment losses) can have a significant effect on Deutsche Telekom's results. In addition to figures prepared in accordance with IFRS, Deutsche Telekom presents non-GAAP financial performance measures, including EBITDA, EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted EBT, adjusted net profit, free cash flow, gross debt and net debt. These non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information prepared in accordance with IFRS. Non-GAAP financial performance measures are not subject to IFRS or any other generally accepted accounting principles. Other companies may define these terms in different ways. For further information relevant to the interpretation of these terms, please refer to the chapter "Reconciliation of pro forma figures" posted on Deutsche Telekom's website (www.telekom.com) under the link "Investor Relations." About Deutsche Telekom AG Deutsche Telekom is one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies with over 150 million mobile customers, approximately 38 million fixed-network lines and more than 15 million broadband lines (as at March 31, 2010). The Group provides products and services for the fixed network, mobile communications, the Internet and IPTV for consumers, and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in over 50 countries and has more than 258,000 employees worldwide. The Group generated revenues of EUR 64.6 billion in the 2009 financial year - almost half of it outside Germany (as at December 31, 2009).