The head of Germany's United Internet said he expects a pre-tax profit of 85 million euros ($111.4 million) for 2004 and pledged to pay between 20 and 25 percent of his net profit in dividends. In a newspaper interview on Sunday in which he reiterated his profit goal, United chief Ralph Dommermuth criticised Deutsche Telekom for failing to help it provide customers with fast-speed internet after market deregulation.
"If it hadn't been for the trouble with Telekom, the result would have been much better," he told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
He blasted the German telecoms giant for failing to provide the parts it needed to give its users fast-speed access but said he did not want to resolve the dispute in court. "I am looking for an amicable solution with Telekom," Dommermuth said.
United pays Deutsche Telekom about 150 million euros a year to use its phone network.
United would try to make itself more independent from Telekom by reorganising the way it provided fast-speed access to some of its customers, Dommermuth said.
In a separate interview with Euro Am Sonntag, Dommermuth said he would continue with the policy of paying up to one quarter of his net profit to shareholders.