* Sees 18 bln euros 2012 adj EBITDA, free cash flow of 6 bln
* Q4 net loss of 1.3 bln euros vs 1 bln profit expected
* 3.3 bln euro impairment charge for U.S. and Greece
* Keeps dividend unchanged at 0.70 eur/shr
* Shares down 2.8 pct, underperforming sector (Adds detail, updates shares)
FRANKFURT, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom (Xetra: 555750 - news) warned profits would fall again this year as its businesses in Greece and the United States continue to struggle after causing a shock bottom-line loss in the fourth quarter.
The Bonn-based group said it expects 2012 underlying earnings excluding special items to ease to around 18 billion euros ($23.8 billion) from 18.7 billion last year.
That is below the 18.4 billion euros average for estimates of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in a Reuters poll of banks and brokerages.
BernsteinResearch analyst Robin Bienenstock said the 2012 outlook showed the company is facing a tough year.
Deutsche Telekom posted a fourth-quarter net loss that widened to 1.3 billion euros from 514 million in the same quarter last year, missing by a wide margin consensus for a 1 billion euros profit.
Tough markets in the U.S. and Greece forced Deutsche Telekom to write down the value of its units there -- T-Mobile USA and OTE (Dusseldorf: 449134.DU - news) -- by a total of 3.3 billion euros in the quarter.
Greek OTE, of which Deutsche Telekom owns 40 percent, earlier on Thursday posted an unexpected fourth-quarter loss and said it planned to pay no dividend this year.
Deutsche Telekom's group core operating profit, though, rose 1.3 percent to 4.6 billion euros, in line with consensus, as the company cut costs. Revenue eased 3.7 percent to 14.9 billion.
By 1244 GMT, shares in Deutsche Telekom were down 2.8 percent at 8.71 euros, making it one of the biggest decliners in the STOXX Europe 600 Telecommunications index, which was off 0.5 percent.
U.S. GROWTH AHEAD
Deutsche Telekom last year tried to sell T-Mobile USA, a growth engine in its early days but now a run-down asset, to AT&T (NYSE: T - news) for $39 billion, but fierce regulatory opposition scuppered the deal, leaving Deutsche Telekom with a $6 billion breakup package.
Bleeding money and losing customers, T-Mobile USA ranks fourth among U.S. carriers behind AT&T, Verizon (NYSE: VZ - news) and Sprint. Deutsche Telekom said it will invest $1.4 billion in its U.S. network in the coming two years taking the total to $4 billion over the period.
"Over the medium term, T-Mobile USA wants to return to rising subscriber numbers and earnings growth," Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Rene Obermann said, adding it had no other choice for the unit after the AT&T deal fell apart.
Deutsche Telekom said it will launch a new fourth-generation network in 2013 and promises connection speeds many times faster than current networks, to cater for smartphones such as Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) 's iPhone.
As part of the breakup package from AT&T, Deutsche Telekom received $3 billion in cash as well as mobile spectrum, which it said it would use to offer data services.
There has been speculation that Deutsche Telekom could now exit Everything Everywhere, Britain's biggest mobile operator, which it owns jointly with France Telecom (Paris: FR0000133308 - news) , but the German company remained mum on the issue on Thursday.
Deutsche Telekom also bucked a trend among European telecom operators struggling to find growth amid intense regulatory pressure and tough price competition as it proposed a stable dividend of 0.70 euros per share.
On Wednesday, France Telecom cut its dividends and put off a promised share buyback. Spain's Telefonica (Other OTC: TEFOF.PK - news) trimmed dividends in December and is focusing on paying down debt, while Dutch operator KPN (Amsterdam: KPN.AS - news) slashed its returns to shareholders via buybacks.
Telekom Austria (Hamburg: TA1.HM - news) on Thursday forecast flat 2012 sales and core profit which may nearly match 2011 levels that met market expectations. ($1=0.7552 euros) (Editing by Mike Nesbit)
There are no comments yet