Poland's TPSA could post Q3 loss on court loss-CFO

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Thursday September 09, 2010 02:04:21 PM GMT

* Sees additional charges for larger-than-expected fine

* No impact on dividend

KRYNICA, Poland, Sept 8 (Reuters) - France Telecom's Polish arm, TPSA, may report a loss in the third quarter due to fresh charges related to a $545 million court fine, TPSA chief financial officer said on Wednesday.

A Vienna court fined TPSA on Friday in a long-running dispute about traffic volumes over a fibre-optic network in Poland relating to Danish Polish Telecommunications Group (DPTG), a unit of Denmark's GN Store Nord.

"The charge we have already taken was too small," TPSA CFO Roland Dubois told Reuters. "We'll have to take an additional one."

Asked if this meant TPSA would report a net loss in the July-September period, as some analysts have suggested, he said: "Potentially, yes, this is really possible."

The group earned 327 million zlotys ($105 million) in the third quarter of last year.

TPSA, Poland's former state phone monopoly, could face additional fines in a related case.

Dubois said the fines would not affect TPSA's dividend policy. Its French parent had already reaffirmed its commitment to a dividend of 1.40 euros a share for 2010, 2011 and 2012.

TPSA shares lost nearly 5 percent on Monday, the first trading day after the ruling, but have regained most of their ground in the last two sessions. (Reporting by Pawel Bernat; Writing by Chris Borowski; Editing by Richard Chang)

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