FRANKFURT: German telecommunications operator Deutsche Telekom suffered a first-quarter loss of 1.12 billion euros (1.49 billion dollars) owing to a devaluation of its British T-Mobile unit, the company said.

In the first quarter of 2008, Deutsche Telekom had posted a profit of 924 million euros, a statement said.

But the group had to write down the value of its T-Mobile UK division by 1.8 billion euros owing to "the strong economic slowdown and more intense competition in the United Kingdom."

The move might renew press speculation over the possible sale of the British mobile division.

Deutsche Telekom also confirmed information first released in late April, including a 6.2 percent increase in first-quarter sales to 15.9 billion euros and a 2.7 percent rise in core earnings to 4.8 billion euros.

That was explained by the integration of Greek telecom operator OTE into Deutsche Telekom's books as of February 1.

When exceptional items were stripped out, quarterly sales were stable at 15 billion euros and core earnings fell by 4.8 percent to 4.5 billion euros, the statement said.

Negative foreign exchange effects were partly responsible for the drop, it added.

"The figures we are presenting today show a mixed picture," Deutsche Telekom chairman Rene Obermann was quoted as saying.

"Despite the difficult environment in some markets, we are in a relatively stable position," he added.

For the full year, the group has forecast a fall in core earnings of two-four percent, excluding the integration of OTE.