Larger than expected gains in mobile subscribers in spite of the economic slowdown helped Verizon Communications, the second largest US telecommunications group, report a 9.8 per cent increase in first quarter net profits on sales that grew by 5.5 per cent to $3.8bn.

“Verizon has weathered the current economic uncertainty with strong first-quarter results,” said Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon’s chief executive. ”I am also confident of our position over the long term because we have further opportunities to drive revenue growth and further opportunities to eliminate costs.”