Cellcom Israel Q1 Profit Up; Revenues Down

(RTTNews) - Cellcom Israel Ltd. (CEL) said its net income for the first quarter surged more than 70 percent to NIS 114 million. Basic earnings per share for the quarter increased to NIS 1.15 from NIS 0.67.

In U.S. dollars terms, net income and basic earnings per share totaled $33 million and $0.33, respectively.

The company attributed the increase in earnings to reductions in operating expenses and financing expenses, which were offset in part by lower service revenues and equipment revenues.

For the first quarter, total revenues were down more than 10 percent at NIS 1.130 billion. Service revenues slid nearly 6 percent to NIS 927 million, and equipment revenues fell more than 25 percent to NIS 203 million.