Telstra posts 13.5% profit gain

Wednesday 13th August 2008

Telstra Corp., Australia's largest phone company, posted a 13.5% gain in annual profit on sales of internet and mobile phone services.

Net income rose to A$3.69 billion in the year ended June 30, from A$3.25 billion a year earlier, the Melbourne-based company said in a statement. Total revenue rose 4.2% to A$24.8 million.

Shares of Telstra fell 3% to A$3.46 after the results, which lagged behind some analysts' estimates. Revenue growth will be 3% to 4% in 2009 and EBIT will rise as much as 8%, the company said today.

Profit in the latest year was less than the A$3.73 billion average in a Reuters Estimates survey and EBIT growth for 2009 is below the 12% median in a Bloomberg News survey.

Revenue from mobile services grew 12.3% in the 12 months ended June 30. Mobile data growth was 44%.

By Jonathan Underhill

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