There are currently three mobile phone network operators in Germany, with 1&1 number four in the starting blocks. With O2, the first of these providers is now presenting its figures for the third quarter of 2023.
The telecommunications provider Telefónica Deutschland (O2) performed strongly in the race for customer favor. In the third quarter of 2023, after deducting cancellations, around 400,000 mobile phone customers were added, around a third more than in the second quarter (around 300,000), the company announced on Tuesday in Munich. It was the best value since the end of 2021.
The competition has not yet published any figures for the past quarter; in the period before that there was a neck-and-neck race between Telekom and O2. The third German network operator, Vodafone, however, had lost significant ground.
Mobile communications are O2’s core business, the landline network plays more of a secondary role – here the company does not rely on its own lines, but has rented capacity from other companies. One reason for the increasing number of customers was probably a better price-performance ratio than a few years ago. At that time, the O2 network coverage was nowhere near as good as that of the competition. However, O2 largely made up for this shortfall with high investments. Company boss Markus Haas was satisfied: “After a strong third quarter, we are fully on track to achieve our goals for the 2023 financial year.”
41 million euros net profit
According to the information, sales of the German subsidiary of the Spanish Telefónica Group increased by 2.2 percent to 2.1 billion euros in the third quarter, with the mobile phone service business being the growth driver. The result for the period – i.e. the net profit – increased by six percent to 41 million euros. Telefónica Deutschland has around 7,500 full-time positions, and in addition to the headquarters in Munich, the former E-Plus headquarters in Düsseldorf is a large company location.
Looking ahead, however, there is a dark cloud on O2’s horizon. Until now, the company has received part of its sales from its competitor 1&1, whose cell phone customers primarily use the O2 network. In the summer or fall of 2024, 1&1 will gradually change gears and instead rely on a collaboration with Vodafone. As a result, O2 will gradually receive fewer rental payments from 1&1. When 1&1 and Vodafone announced their merger in August, Telefónica Deutschland’s share price collapsed. To this day he has not recovered from this setback.
Source: Stern
