Telecoms group KPN booked a fall in first quarter sales on Tuesday as fixed-link earnings continued to decline. Net profit reached €313m, down 18% from a year earlier. Sales were down 2.6% to €2.9bn.

While the number of customers with mobile phone contracts rose, turnover was not high enough to offset the decline in fixed-link telephony which is under pressure from internet-based telephone technology.
In Germany, KPN’s mobile phone company E-Plus booked operating profit of €75m after breaking even last year.