MILAN (Reuters) -Telecom Italia (TIM) said on Wednesday its core profit rose 6.1% last year, boosted by its Brazilian unit and helped by signs of improvement at its ailing domestic business, whose service revenue returned to growth in the final quarter.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation including lease payments (EBITDA-AL) rose to 5.3 billion euros ($5.69 billion) for 2023, the former phone monopoly said in its preliminary full-year results.
That was slightly above a company-provided analyst consensus for a 5.7% rise to 5.28 billion euros, as well low-mid single digit growth targeted by TIM.
The results "allow the group to meet or exceed the targets set for the 2023 financial year", TIM said in the statement.
Total revenue, including that generated by TIM's fast-growing Brazilian unit, rose 3.1% to 16.3 billion euros, in line with analysts' expectations.
TIM said its domestic service sales, which account for the bulk of the group's total revenue, edged 1.2% higher on an annual basis in the final quarter, returning to growth for the first time in more than five years.
Net financial debt stood at 25.7 billion euros as of Dec. 31, up 300 million from the year before, TIM said.
Battling ferocious price competition in its domestic market, TIM is seeking an ambitious turnaround centred on a planned sale of its fixed domestic access network to U.S. fund KKR for up to 22 billion euros.
($1 = 0.9321 euros)