AT&T profit rises thanks to improved margins

American mobile phone network AT&T reported a higher quarterly profit for the start of 2012, driven by a rise in wireless margins, as it had to pay less in subsidies to Apple because it sold fewer iPhones in the quarter.

AT&T’s shares rose almost 2 per cent after the news.

US networks were weighed down by iPhone costs in fourth quarterd. While fewer iPhone sales meant weaker subscriber growth for AT&T, it did help the company’s wireless service profitability.

Its net income rose to $3.58bn (£2.21bn) from $3.4 billion. Consolidated revenue rose nearly 2 per cent to $31.8bn from $31.25bn.