Helped by strong subscriber growth at its rejuvenated T-Mobile US operation, Deutsche Telekom’s Q3 sales beat analyst forecasts, but higher investment in the Netherlands – along with price wars in Czech Republic and Croatia – weighed on profitability.

Third-quarter revenue was up 6 per cent, year-on-year, to €15.5 billion, as T-Mobile US scooped up more than one million extra subscribers.

Thanks to competitive and regulatory pressures in Europe, however, Q3 sales in the region (excluding Germany) dropped 6 per cent, to €3.4 billion.

Deutsche Telekom had a better top-line performance in its home market, dipping just 1.2 per cent to €5.7 billion. Mobile data revenue in Germany jumped 30.7 per cent, although it was clearly not enough to offset losses elsewhere.

Group profits, measured by adjusted EBITDA, slipped by 2.6 per cent to €4.7 billion.

Timotheus Hoettges, CFO, is preparing to take over from CEO Rene Obermann. Analysts believe there will be more focus on European operations when he takes the helm.

“The company will now likely ramp up investments and marketing spend,” said Adrian Pehl, an analyst at Equinet in Frankfurt, quoted by Reuters. “They are on the right track.”