Telecom Italia reported that its first-quarter net profit grew 4.2% as international operations offset declining margins and tough competition in its domestic fixed-line and mobile markets, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press reports aid Italy's largest telecommunications group's net profit was 775 million euros ($1.05 billion) from 744 million euros ($1 billion) a year earlier, exceeding the 630 million euros ($854.15 million) average estimate of seven analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.
The report meanwhile quoted Telecom Italia CEO Riccardo Ruggiero as saying that the firm has not reopened industrial talks with Spain's Telefonica since the recent 4.1 billion euros ($5.58 billion) deal that hands control of Europe's fifth largest telecommunications operator to a consortium that includes Telefonica and leading Italian financial institutions.
Ruggiero confirmed in a conference call with analysts that the deal would bring synergies, in particular in its German and Brazilian operations. He did not offer any figures.
'What concerns Telefonica (is) we have no discussions at the moment. We didn't restart the discussions since they were interrupted in February,' Ruggiero was quoted as saying.
Telecom Italia had been in talks about an industrial tie-up with Telefonica, but the talks ended without results, the report further said.