Telekom Austria records doubling of profit

Telekom Austria Group on Wednesday reported an almost 128 percent increase in profit in the first quarter of 2015 to reach 99 million U.S. dollars.

The company said the result was a surprise in that it was significantly higher than analysts' expectations of a 55-million-dollar profit.

The company, controlled by Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu since April 2014, said along with good business in both its Austrian and Belarussian operations, "intensive cost savings" also led to the net profit increase.

"We are optimizing business operations, are turning every cent over and are trimming the Telekom Austria Group back to a growth course," said CEO Hannes Ametsreiter.

The positive news came despite an overall decline in group revenue of 2.0 percent to just over 1 billion dollars, largely due to currency effects in Belarus. It nonetheless expects about 2 percent revenue growth for the full year.