Top executives are gathered in Barcelona for the annual Morgan
Stanley Technology, Media and Telecoms Conference.
Following are the top stories from the conference, which
concludes Friday.
TELEFONICA SA (TEF) reiterated its commitment to paying a
dividend to its shareholders despite a troubled home market.
Angel Vila, chief financial officer of the Spanish telecoms
giant, said the company continues to enjoy revenue growth and
profits, and highlighted its growth in Latin America, reducing its
dependency on its home market.
AT&T INC.'s (T) customers have remained loyal despite the
loss of exclusive rights to sell the iPhone, the U.S.
telecommunications company said.
"Churn has not moved at all," said Glen Lurie, president of
emerging devices for AT&T. Churn refers to the number of
customers who cancel services.
ROYAL KPN NV (KPN.AE) Chief Executive Eelco Blok raised fresh
ideas for consolidation in the telecommunications sector.
Blok expressed interest in buying the Dutch assets of Swedish
telecom firm Tele2 AB (TEL2-B.SK), and reiterated that he would be
keen to buy Telefonica SA's (TEF) German O2 unit.
NOKIA CORP. (NOK), the Finnish handset maker, said its top
priority now is to drive up sales volumes, with its new Windows
smart phones just hitting the market.
"We want to see volumes begin to move. We need to get developers
recognizing there is a growing opportunity here, so that we attract
applications," Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop said.
PEARSON PLC (PSON.LN), the U.K. publisher, is aiming to expand
in emerging markets, both organically and through acquisitions, to
the point where its operations there generate as much revenue as
its main North American education publishing business.
Pearson has grown significantly in emerging markets in recent
years, Chief Financial Officer Robin Freestone said. And with just
$1 billion in sales expected to come from these markets this year,
the company is eager for more.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., the Chinese telecommunication equipment
maker, is prioritizing improving its profitability over capturing
additional market share, said James Lai, the company's head of
solutions.
According to Lai, Huawei has become less aggressive in the past
year and "doesn't try to win all deals anymore."
BRITISH SKY BROADCASTING GROUP PLC (BSY.LN), the U.K.'s largest
pay-television provider, expects to be able to weather the economic
uncertainty as pressure on household income forces people to seek
entertainment at home.
Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch said the shaky economy will lead
consumers to approach big-ticket purchases such as flat-screen
televisions with caution. But he said the value offered by BSkyB's
home entertainment services puts the company in a strong
position.
BT GROUP PLC's (BT.LON) chief executive said he is focused on
cash generation.
"Cash generation is core, that's what we do for BT as a whole,"
Ian Livingston said.
The U.K. telecommunications firm will deliver returns, but it's
not delivering "on the price of the future," he said. It will
continue to invest, for example in fiber rollout, an area which
should provide rapid growth.
HAVAS SA (HAV.FR), the French advertising group, has no imminent
plans to cut jobs, but wouldn't rule such action out if its
customers were forced to reduce spending as a result of the
economic downturn, said Chief Executive David Jones.
"If we see our clients cut, we will cut accordingly," he
said.
TELENOR ASA (TEL.OS), the Norwegian telecommunications company,
could feel the impact of a worsening of the euro-zone crisis, with
its Swedish business-to-business operations being particularly
vulnerable.
"As a company we are quite fortunate, but we shouldn't rule out
that the macro-economic problems and a potential banking crisis can
impact us," Chief Financial Officer Richard Aa said.
TDC A/S (TDC.KO), a Danish telecommunications firm, may have to
boost investment in its mobile infrastructure to make sure it stays
in front of rivals TeliaSonera AB (TLSN.SK) and Telenor ASA
(TEL.OS), Chief Executive Henrik Poulsen said.
-By Archibald Preuschat, Sven Grundberg and Christopher Lawton,
Dow Jones Newswires