AT& T Inc, the largest US telephone company, Tuesday reported a first-quarter profit jump of 22 per cent on sales of the iPhone wireless handset and savings from job cuts. ( dpa )
Net income was 3.46 billion dollars, or 57 cents a share, from 2.85 billion dollars, or 45 cents, a year earlier, the San Antonio- based company said in a statement.
Sales climbed 6.1 per cent to 30.7 billion dollars, boosted by wireless business.
After the 86-billion-dollar purchase of BellSouth Corp in 2006, the company gained tens of thousands of new customers while cutting 10,000 jobs in overlapping functions such as marketing and technology. The company announced 4,650 additional firings April 18 to reduce the number of middle managers in the home-phone business, Bloomberg financial news agency reported.