Telecom Italia scraps dividend for first time

Telecom Italia, trying to conserve cash as competition in Italy's phone market hurts earnings, scrapped its dividend for common shares for the first time in its history as a public company.

The full-year net loss was €674 million, taking the accumulated deficit in the past three years to €7 billion.

Telecom Italia, privatised by the government in 1997, had its debt cut to junk by Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s last year and needs funds for investments to revive growth.

Chief executive Marco Patuano is upgrading networks in Italy and Brazil, while trying to reduce debt.

“Scrapping the dividend is a wise choice for a company like Telecom Italia,” said Andrea Giuricin, a professor who specialises in media and telecommunications at Milan Bicocca University. – (Bloomberg)