MobilCom blames losses on France Telecom

NEWS The CEO of German mobile company MobilCom has blamed France Telecom for its ballooning losses, citing the ongoing and very public disputes between the two companies. MobilCom's losses for the first quarter of this year have risen sharply to E116.4m from E43.5m in the comparable quarter last year. France Telecom is the second biggest shareholder in the German company. Gerhard Schmid, MobilCom's CEO, spoke yesterday of his anger at losing important customers and projects after the row between the two moved into the public spotlight. One point of contention is the fact that Schmid's wife owns a 49 per cent stake in the company. He offered to sell this but any potential transaction has been weighed down by extended negotiations.