These dividends are over one-and-a-half times its investments levels, though the company has justified price hikes by citing investment needs.

Telia's recently released annual report for 2023 reveals a net profit increase of €8.7 million, to €63 million last year, while Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) was as high as €135.8 million.

These profits were achieved off €384 million in revenue, Delfi reported.

While Telia paid €40.8 million in dividends in 2022; €51.2 million last year, in May this year Telia's Swedish parent company decided to take as much as €80.9 million in dividends from its Estonian operations for this year, the largest dividend payment ever made under its business name, Delfi said.

Because Telia had an undistributed profit of €72.5 million at the end of 2023, the €80 million dividend payment will also require a diminution of €8 million in its statutory reserve capital, the company's annual report stated, as reported by Delfi.

Telia paid out €9.5 million in income tax on dividends in Estonia last year, but given the Swedish state has a 40-percent stake in Telia Group, the Swedish treasury took in more than €15 million in owner's income from Estonia last year, while this year the amount already exceeds €25 million.

Delfi noted that Telia's annual report does not reveal a major increase in costs, as its profitability is yet rising.

The company's labor costs rose by €5.5 million last year, but at the same time its operating costs fell by €4.5 million, which means that the overall cost base remained essentially the same year-on-year, and does not differ too much from 2021's figure.

It also reveals that there has been no rise in the company's investments, which it finances with loans from its parent company Telia Company at an interest rate of 2.12 to 4.29 percent.

Last year Telia invested €53 million, in 2022 €60.5 million and in 2021, €54.5 million.

By comparison, Finnish firm Elisa, the second-largest company in the Estonian telecoms market, reported a net profit of €12.5 million on sales of €225 million last year, and invested €30.7 million in 2023.

Tele2 reported a net profit of €700 000 last year, while the company's sales revenue fell by €200,000, to €84.8 million.

Delfi noted that according to the latest data from Statistics Estonia, inflation in Estonia slowed to 2.5 percent in June and slowed in most commodity groups, but in the communications services sector it continues at a high pace, reaching 10.6 percent, making it the fastest rising sector in Estonia.

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