Telstra's Trujillo, political antagonist, to step down

Thursday 26th February 2009

Sol Trujillo, chief executive of Australia's biggest phone company, Telstra Corp., will step down after a three-year term that frequently pitted him against political shareholders in Canberra.

The announcement came as the company posted first half profit of A$1.92 billion, little changed from the year-earlier A$1.93 billion. Sales rose 3% to A$12.7 billion, Telstra said in a statement today.

Trujillo, 57, first locked horns with former Prime Minister John Howard's administration and has since clashed with PM Kevin Rudd over regulation of Australia's telecommunications industry. In December, Telstra missed out on a role in building the nation's new high-speed internet network to Singapore Telecommunications.

Telstra's earnings fell as its fixed-line services lost customers to mobile, a trend repeated around the world. The shares fell 0.6% to A$4.70 and are down 14% in the past 12 months.

By Jonathan Underhill

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