Cairo  - Telecom Egypt, the country's fixed-line monopoly, reported Thursday a 13 per cent decline in third quarter profits, compared to the same period in 2008.

Profit in the third quarter fell from 950 million Egyptian pounds (174.1 million dollars) last year to 826 million this year. In the nine months through to the end of September, the company increased profits by 17.7 per cent compared to 2008, reaching 2.576 billion pounds.

Total consolidated operating revenues for the first nine months of 2009 hit 7.74 billion Egyptian pounds, an increase of 3 per cent, year on year, though quarter on quarter, the sales fell 5.5 per cent.

Tarek Tantawy, chief executive officer of Telecom Egypt, noted there had been an "intensification in the land grab for mobile subscribers," but tried to allay concerns, saying it was something "which is now attracting regulatory oversight."

The company was also experiencing growth in mobile subscribers, Tantaway said.

Broadband Internet was deemed one of the companies main growth areas, with 572,000 subscribers, making up a 61 per cent market share in the most populous Arab country.

The company said its total fixed line subscribers stood at 9.6 million. (dpa)