MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's Poste Italiane said on Tuesday total sales rose 14 percent in the first quarter, helped by a 20 percent increase in its insurance revenues.
The post office, which was partly privatised last October, is a conglomerate that last year derived 85 percent of its revenues from insurance and banking services.
Poste Italiane reported total sales of 9.76 billion euros ($11 billion) in the period, beating an analyst consensus of 9.13 billion euros provided by the group.
Earning before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose 16 percent to 562 million euros. Market analysts had pinned expectations on an operating profit of 503 million euros.
In a statement the group said first quarter results were also helped by capital gains from the sale of government bonds.
