Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) has posted a net profit of EUR643 million for the three months to 30 September, down 34% on the previous year when earnings were boosted by a EUR380 million gain due to the cancellation of the EU telecoms fee. Revenues, on the other hand, rose by 8% to EUR3.35 billion, thanks in the main to strong growth outside of Italy. TIM added 1.3 million customers to its Brazilian operations during the quarter to take the total to 11.7 million, while in Italy it claimed 26.2 million subscribers at the end of September. It says its 3G service, launched in May, has helped boost customer numbers.
Meanwhile, TIM revealed on Saturday that it had entered into a deal to sell its Venezuelan mobile subsidiary to Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela for USD450 million. It expects the transaction to be completed by the end of March 2005.