DARMSTADT - T-Online, the Internet arm of Deutsche Telekom, said Wednesday that bottom-line earnings in the first three months of the current year were hit by increased marketing costs, but that it was satisfied with its overall first-quarter performance.
T-Online, Europe's largest Internet services provider, said in a statement that it booked net profit of 61.7 million euros (79 million dollars) in the period from January to March, down 22.2 percent on the year-earlier figure.
Operating profit was down 31.5 percent at 65.6 million euros, while sales grew by 4.1 percent to 508.8 million euros, the statement said.
"We are delighted with current developments and are absolutely on target," said chief executive Rainer Beaujean.
The rise in revenues reflected continued growth in customer numbers and the decline in earnings reflected increased marketing costs connected with DSL (digital subscriber line) broadband Internet access packages.
05/11/2005 08:32 GMT