Reuters | February 3, 2011 | Michael O’Boyle and Tomas Sarmiento
* Net profit of 3.39 bln pesos below estimates
* EBITDA and revenues also miss, taxes higher
* Sheds 291k line, adds 835k broadband, yr/yr (Adds detail on broadband subscribers)
Billionaire Carlos Slim’s  Telmex, Mexico‘s leading fixed-line phone operator, posted on Thursday a surprisingly steep 32 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit on lower revenue and higher taxes.
Telmex (TMX.N) said its quarterly net profit was 3.39 billion pesos ($275 million) compared to 4.99 billion pesos in the same period last year.
A Reuters poll of seven analysts projected net profit of 3.91 billion pesos. [ID:nN01115085]
Earnings were hit by a 70 percent leap in the tax bill.
The former monopoly is being pressured from all sides, as it faces rising competition from cable companies offering TV, phone service and Internet access and as customers drop fixed-lines for mobile phones. Regulations bar Telmex from offering TV service, which the company says puts it at a competitive disadvantage.
….
