Deutsche Telekom T-Mobile Appoints Ex-Orange Boss Moat UK MD
07 Mai 2009 - 10:56AM
Dow Jones News
Deustche Telekom AG's (DT) U.K. T-Mobile unit Thursday said it
has appointed Richard Moat, the former boss of France Telecom SA's
(FTE) Orange Romania operations, as its new managing director.
The appointment comes on the day Deutsche Telekom was forced to
write down the value of its T-Mobile U.K. operations by EUR1.8
billion, given rising costs and falling revenue.
Deutsche Telekom said in April the cost to attract new
subscribers has increased at the U.K. unit, but revenue hasn't
risen commensurately. In addition, T-Mobile's roaming revenue has
fallen as fewer people travel.
T-Mobile U.K. has been without a managing director since Jim
Hyde left in March to return to his native U.S. Moat will join in
June.
Last month, the group appointed a new U.K. chief marketing
officer, Srini Gopalan to help the struggling business.
Amid fierce competition, T-Mobile's U.K. business has been
losing market share to its rivals including Orange, Vodafone Group
PLC (VOD) and Telefonica SA's (TEF) O2, while the group's falling
revenue has been compounded by high fixed costs.
Deustche Telekom has said it's reviewing all options for the
unit and recent press reports have suggested the company may look
to sell its U.K. operations.
Company Web site: www.telekom.com
-By Kathy Sandler, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-207-842-9293;
kathy.sandler@dowjones.com