Telco shares are surprise losers

SINGAPORE/BERLIN: As lockdowns worldwide drive a surge in internet use, boosting online sales for businesses as varied as gaming and food delivery, the stocks of internet providers are an unlikely laggard on global markets. In Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, a combination of high fixed costs, debt and market disruption has left telcos significantly underperforming the data-hungry businesses their networks carry.

“It’s a bit of a surprise,” said Kasper Elmgreen, equities head at Europe’s biggest fund manager, Amundi Asset Management. “The traditional defensive sectors have played defensive, but telecoms have not really been defensive,” he said, pointing to price drops more or less in line with European markets. Globally, a 13 percent drop in the MSCI world telecommunications services index pales in comparison to healthcare , down 6 percent, technology, down 8 percent, or consumer staples, down 10 percent.

The poor showing illustrates the difficult dynamics facing carriers, even when their services are more essential than ever. Around the world, millions of people are confined to their homes and businesses closed as governments restrict movement to halt the spread of the coronavirus which has led to over 113,000 deaths.

That has driven business and entertainment online, but left telcos spending to service surging demand, and, with fixed pricing structures, no quick way to monetize the investment.

At the same time, roaming revenue has dried up as people travel less, and telcos are bracing for a slump in new contracts accompanying a wave of unemployment as businesses shut.

“Because of flat-rate deals, we hardly get any extra revenue if people spend more time surfing or talking on the phone,” Ralph Dommermuth, chief executive of German telco 1&1 Drillisch AG, told Reuters. “I can’t yet say whether more time being spent in the home office will compensate for revenue losses that will arise because many companies or private individuals have to put off renewing their contracts or can’t pay their bills.”

The outlook has driven stock drops as investors fret about dividends that have been under pressure for years. Companies such as AT&T Inc, which is down 21 percent this year, Telefonica SA, down 30 percent, and MTN Group Ltd have either matched or outstripped benchmark declines. — Reuters

MOSCOW: People buy vegetables at a street market on the outskirts of Moscow. When President Vladimir Putin announced a paid holiday over April to keep Russians home and prevent the coronavirus from spreading, many small business owners braced. How would they keep the president’s promise of paying employees while shutting? — AFP