Greece’s OTE quarterly core profit dips, Romania hurts

ATHENS: Greece’s biggest telecoms operator OTE posted a 0.9 percent drop in first-quarter core profit on Thursday as weakness in Romania outweighed growth in its home market.

The former national monopoly, 45 percent owned and managed by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 310.6 million euros ($347.9 million) compared to 313.4 million euros in the same quarter a year earlier.

A drop in profit in Romania outweighed growth in Greece, where the economy is recovering after years in recession.