Slovakia unhappy with Deutsche Telekom dividend plan

BRATISLAVA: Slovakia is not satisfied with Deutsche Telekom's possible plan to pay out half last year's dividends from its unit Slovak Telekom (ST), the economy ministry said on Saturday.

Slovak daily SME reported on Saturday that Deutsche Telekom is proposing to pay 130 million euros worth of dividends for 2010, citing the company.

"The economy ministry is not satisfied, because there is no reason for not paying out the entire dividend worth 258 million euros and we will continue to negotiate trying to enforce our eligible rights," Robert Merva, the ministry's spokesman told Reuters.

The German telecommunications company, which holds a majority 51 percent controlling stake in ST, in April said it would not pay any dividend for 2010 for ST, drawing criticism from Slovakia's economy ministry.

The government, led by Prime Minister Iveta Radicova, holds the remaining 49 percent stake in country's dominant fixed-line telecommunication services provider.

The ST group's total revenue fell by 4.4 percent to 701.6 million euros in the first nine months of 2010 following price cuts in selected services. Operating free cashflow for the period dropped 4.2 percent to 200.3 million euros.

Copyright Reuters, 2010