Bonn - Deutsche Telekom reported a first-quarter increase in net profit on Thursday as cost-cutting measures helped offset a decline in revenue. Adjusted net profit rose 33.2 per cent to 750 million euros (1.15 billion dollars) from a year ago as net revenue dipped 3.1 per cent to 14.97 billion euros, Europe's biggest telecoms operator said.
Earnings before tax and interest were steady at 4.7 billion euros, the company said, pointing to the strong euro which hampered growth of its T-Mobile subsidiary on the US cellphone market.
After a good start, Telekom shares dipped 0.6 per cent on the Frankfurt stock exchange to stand at 11.45 euros at mid-morning amid concerns at a further fall in the number of the company's fixed-line customers.
"Over the first three months of this year we laid strong foundations for for the rest of the year," chief executive Rene Obermann said.
Telekom attributed the increased profit to reduced labour costs and revenue from the sale of its subsidiary Media&Broadcast.
The company's workforce declined 9,400 to 238,000, the statement said.
