(Reuters) - Australia's Telstra Corp <TLS.AX> said earnings for the current financial year would be at the bottom end of guidance and challenging conditions were expected to continue in 2019, sending its shares sharply lower.
The country's biggest telecom operator said there would be ongoing pressure on mobile and fixed average revenue per user as well as increased competition brought on by the rollout of the National Broadband Network.
"In the last 12 months alone we have moved from three big players in mobile and fixed to a situation today where we face a 4th network operator entrant in mobile, an increasing number of mobile virtual-network operators and more than 170 resellers of fixed," CEO Andrew Penn said in a statement.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation are expected to come in at the bottom end of A$10.1 - A$10.6 billion guidance given previously, it said.
Its shares were down 3.4 percent in early afternoon trade.
Telstra reached an agreement with the government in 2010 under which it would be paid for progressively handing over its voice and broadband services and leasing its ducts, pits and exchange space to the National Broadband Network company.
(Reporting by Nicole Pinto in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and Edwina Gibbs)
