Ote Ads Regulatory News (OTES)

8 Feb 2006 12:34

Hellenic Telecomms Organization S A08 February 2006 Announcement OTE comments on press articles Athens, February 8, 2006 - Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA (ASE:HTO, NYSE: OTE), the Greek full-service telecommunications provider, todayissued the following statement in response to press articles relating to OTE'sVoluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS): •OTE is proceeding with the implementation of the VRS regardless of the outcomeof the European Commission's pending decision regarding the conformity withEuropean competition rules of the Greek government's contribution to the OTEpension fund (TAP-OTE). •This review by the European Commission had been anticipated and timelydisclosed to the public and to all OTE stakeholders, including investors andunion representatives. •Until the European Commission's final decision on this matter is released, thefull cost of the VRS will be financed by OTE. The full cost of the VRS withoutincluding any state assistance to TAP-OTE has been charged to OTE's nine months2005 financial results. •OTE has received official confirmation that the pending inter-ministerialdecision, for the disbursement of pensions related to the VRS will be signedsoon, so that TAP-OTE may begin to distribute pensions to employees who havesigned up for the VRS. About OTEOTE is a provider of public, fixed switch domestic and international telephonyservices in Greece. With local, long distance and international communicationsservices in addition to mobile telephony, Internet services, and high-speed datacommunications, OTE provides consumers and businesses the ability to communicateglobally through its extensive network infrastructure. In addition, OTE has anumber of International investments in the South East European region andaddresses a potential customer base of 60 million people.Listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, the company trades under the ticker HTO aswell as on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker OTE. In the U.S., OTE'sAmerican Depository Receipts (ADR's) represents 1/2 ordinary share.Additional Information is also available on http://www.ote.gr. Contacts:OTE: Dimitris Tzelepis- Head of Investor Relations, Tel: +30 210 611 1574Email: dtzelepis@ote.grNikos Kallianis - Senior Financial Analyst, Investor Relations Tel: +30 210 6118167Email: nkallianis@ote.grDaria Kozanoglou - Communications Officer, Investor Relations Tel: +30 210 6111121;Email: nkozanoglou@ote.grMarilli Diamandi - IR CoordinatorTel: +30 210 611 5070Email: mdiamant@ote.gr Cubitt Consulting: +44 20 7367 5100 (London); +1 212 279 3115 (New York) Forward-looking statementAny statements contained in this document that are not historical facts areforward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities LitigationReform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risksand uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially fromexpectations. The factors that could affect the Company's future financialresults are discussed more fully in the Company's filings with the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the Company's AnnualReport on Form 20-F for 2004 filed with the SEC on June 30, 2005. OTE assumes noobligation to update information in this release. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange