Shares in telecommunications giant Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) are down 1% to $3.33 at the time of writing as the share price continues its downward spiral – dropping close to 30% from its $4.61 share price at this time last year.
It is unclear whether Telstra was knocked down further after Labor's announcement Australian retirees would miss out on cash refunds from franking credits last fortnight, but this news can't be to blame for its poor performance over the last 12-months as a whole.
Telstra unveiled a drop of almost 5% in NPAT when it announced its results for the half-year to December 31 2017 in late February, the third-consecutive half Telstra has lost market share to Optus.
Investors who picked up Telstra as a good long-term dividend payer will suffer through a cut to its dividend of more than a quarter, with just 11c per share being declared for the interim – no doubt a knock to sentiment for the stock.
While Telstra struggles on, shares in smaller-cousin TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) are up 2.2% to $5.89 at the time of writing after the release of the multi-media telecommunications company's solid half-year results yesterday.
