Deutsche Telekom : dismisses talk of trouble at T-Systems

Deutsche Telekom dismissed reports of operating problems at its IT services unit T-Systems, saying the business was on track and that it had recently extended CEO Adel Al-Saleh's contract.

"We're happy that we have an increasing order entry. We're progressing on the transformation at T-Systems, to be honest," CFO Christian Illek told analysts on a conference call. "There is nothing behind this."

Illek declined to comment on what he called speculation regarding possible asset sales to curb an increase in Deutsche Telekom's leverage - one factor behind its decision on Thursday to reduce its proposed dividend for 2019.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Ludwig Burger)