United Internet 2014 core profit up by a third on new customers

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German internet service provider United Internet said on Wednesday its 2014 core profit had risen by more than a third due to record growth of new customers both organically and through acquisitions.

Earnings before interest tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 35.5 percent to 551.5 million euros ($605.05 million) in 2014, it said in a statement.

Organic growth in fee-based customer contracts amounted to 910,000 while a further 420,000 contracts were added from the Versatel takeover, United Internet said.

"All in all, the number of fee-based customer contracts rose by 1.33 million to 14.78 million," it added.

United Internet proposes to pay a dividend of 0.60 euros per share, up from 0.40 euros in the previous year.

For 2015, the company expects the number of fee-based customer contracts to grow by about 800,000, resulting in sales growth of about 20 percent and a 40 percent higher EBITDA.

(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Gareth Jones)