|
Wednesday 15th October 2008 |
Text too small? |
The investment will allow Telecom to beat Vodafone in deployment of 3G services by about a year, according to a statement from Telecom today. Its total capital spending in the next two years will be about NZ$2.4 billion, it said.
Shares of the phone company sunk 5% to a 16-year low NZ$2.44. In the past decade, the stock has handed investors a loss of more than 60% excluding dividend payments. The slide began when it slashed dividends for its unprofitable expansion to Australia and accelerated after New Zealand's government imposed an operational split.
Of 12 analysts who follow the stock, eight rate it a "hold" and two expect the shares to outperform the benchmark index, according to Reuters. The other two ratings are a "sell" and an "underperform."
Telecom has forecast little profit growth the next few years. Pretax earnings may slide 5.7% between 2009 and 2010, according to Reuters estimates.
No comments yet
Telecom Corporation of New Zealand (TEL)
Telecom in drive to latch on to growing data usage with 4G mobile launch next month
Telecom lines up to buy 700MHz spectrum to extend reach of 4G network
Telecom backs setting copper prices until 2020, warns against getting too far away from input cost
Telecom puts $60M price tag on new Auckland data centre, Hawkins, AECOM win build
Telecom ends jobs purge, looks for ‘more sophisticated’ ways to save money
Telecom FY earnings fall to bottom of guidance range, sees unchanged dividend in 2014
Telecom takes spat with Vodafone to regulator after dropping court action
Telecom unbundling key to regulator's copper conundrum
Telecom lures customers to faster services in EPL deal
