German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom said Thursday net profits fell in 2016, as its stake in Britain's BT lost value in the wake of last year's Brexit vote. Net profits were down 18 percent to 2.67 billion euros ($2.8 billion), the company said. Analysts had been expecting it to post a profit of 4.54 billion euros.

The main factor hitting profits was a 2.2-billion-euro loss from its 12-percent stake in BT "mainly as a result of declines in the BT share price and in the pound sterling following the Brexit referendum," the German group said. Britain's June vote to leave the European Union took the global markets completely by surprise, sparking lingering uncertainty and unease over London's future relationship with Brussels.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017