Reuters
French telecoms firm Iliad said on Friday that its core operating profit in the first quarter was up 5.4% from a year earlier, driven by higher revenues at home and in Italy. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after leases (EBITDAaL) grew to 714 million euros ($755 million)over the period, Iliad said in a statement, while first-quarter sales rose by 4.8% to 1.9 billion euros. Iliad, whose owner Xavier Niel took the company private last year via a 3.1 billion-euro buyout, reiterated its aim to grow in the three countries where it operates.