Despite the challenging operational environment, two European telecom operators, Deutsche Telekom and Portugal Telecom (PT), managed to meet the analysts' estimates for their second-quarter results - thanks to the performance of their respective overseas operations, especially in the emerging markets!

Reporting its April-June quarter earnings of euro521 million, as against the year-before figures of euro394 million, the Bonn, Germany-based Deutsche Telekom said that its earnings were in line with the market expectations, largely due to its growth out of the country, as well as its last year acquisition of a stake in Greek telecom Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA.

Similarly, PT also stated that its net profit for the second quarter met the analysts' forecasts, with its Brazilian operations counterbalancing the effect of lower mobile termination fees in its domestic business.

However, even though Deutsche Telekom reported an 8.4 percent increase in its adjusted core profit, to euro5.3 billion euros and said it was "on track" to meet the downsized 2009 targets, its UK business and its T-Mobile US still continue to be a drag.

While Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann maintains that the company's UK business "had improved," Michael Kovacocy of Metacommunicare commented its US business, saying: "There is no escaping the fact that what was once Deutsche Telekom's growth engine - T-Mobile US - is now a declining franchise!"