OTE resumes dividend payment after four years

Greece’s telecoms operator OTE said on Thursday it will resume dividend payment after four years after its fixed-line business at home stabilised for the first time in seven years.

The company, which is 40 percent owned by Deutsche Telekom, posted a 2.8 percent drop in fourth-quarter core profit, mainly hurt by lower revenues in Romania.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) excluding restructuring and other costs fell to 370.9 million euros in the fourth quarter from 381.4 million euros in the same period in 2013.

Group revenues were down 2.8 percent to 1.017 billion euros, with sales from the domestic fixed-line business stable for the first time after seven years of contraction.

The company said free cash flow stood at 583 million euros last year, beating its 500 million euro target. It expected free cash flow to exceed 500 million euros this year.

[Reuters]