Dutch telecom firm KPN profits down by half in 2008

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BRUSSELS, Jan. 27 (Chinese media) -- Dutch telecom company

KPN said Tuesday its net profit plunged by half in 2008 to 1.34 billion euros

(1.77 billion U.S. dollars).

Its turnover rose by 16 percent to 14.6 billion euros

(19.3 billion dollars), while the operational profit climbed 3.2 percent to 5

billion euros (6.6 billion dollars), the company said in a statement.

In the fourth quarter of last year, KPN's net profit

plummeted 81 percent to 297 million euros (392 million dollars). Its turnover

went up by 1.6 percent to 3.72 billion euros (4.91 billion dollars), while the

operational profit rose 5.3 percent to1.28 billion euros (1.69 billion dollars).

KPN Chief Executive Officer Ad Scheepbouwer said that

he was "pleased" with the results, adding that so far, the company had not

suffered a "material impact" from the economic downturn and had strengthened its

competitive position in the Netherlands.

But he admitted that the economic downturn and

regulatory initiatives of the European Commission "pose new challenges and bring

uncertainty" for the coming year.

According to Scheepbouwer, the company has initiated

"pre-emptive measures" including cutting costs. The company sticks to its

operational profit target for 2010.

The company proposed dividend of 60 cents per share

for 2008, up 11 percent from the previous year.