Telecom New Zealand has reported a 12.6% year-on-year rise in net income to NZD224 million (USD150 million), although without earnings related to the sale of Telecom Samoa Cellular income would have risen just 2.5% to NZD204 million (USD136.9 million). The firm says its mobile, broadband and Yellow Pages divisions all performed well, although revenues declined in some of its wireline units and at its Australian subsidiary AAPT. Group revenues rose 3.3% to NZD1.48 billion (USD993 million). Telecom had 1.41 million fixed line customers, 1.77 million cellular subscribers and 367,000 retail broadband customers at the end of September.
Meanwhile, Telecom has also unveiled plans to spin off its Yellow Pages division. The telco says there has already been ‘considerable interest’ shown in the unit. A sale is expected to be completed by the end of Telecom’s current financial year in June 2007.