(Associated Press via NewsEdge) New Zealand Telecom, the country's biggest listed company by capitalization, reported a 12.6% higher first quarter net profit, buoyed by a one-off gain from the sale of its majority stake in a Samoan cellular phone company.
The company also announced it is beginning the sale of its Yellow Pages directories business, with the sale expected to be completed by the end of fiscal 2007.
The nation's biggest fixed line phone company by subscriber numbers and revenue reported a net profit in the three months ended September 30 of NZ$224 million ($151 million) compared with NZ$199 million ($) a year earlier.
Adjusted net earnings, excluding the NZ$20 million ($13 million) abnormal gain from the Samoa Cellular sale, were NZ$204 million ($137 million), up 2.5% on the same quarter a year earlier.
New Zealand Telecom CEO Theresa Gattung said in a statement that the company's New Zealand operations had performed solidly during the first quarter, led by its mobile, broadband and Yellow Pages businesses.
Mobile revenue rose 7.4% on-year, while the carrier acquired a net 68,000 mobile subscribers, up slightly from the 64,000 added in the fourth quarter.
The carrier has outperformed Vodafone unit Vodafone New Zealand in the past seven quarters. Vodafone, which has started to compete aggressively in recent quarters, has yet to release its September quarter subscriber numbers.
The firm should also reach a target of 520,000 retail broadband connections by June 30, 2007, Gattung said.
© 2006 The Associated Press
© 2006 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved