Brazilian mobile operator TIM reported fourth-quarter net profit of BRL 183.4 million, up 36 percent from a year earlier. EBITDA improved 16 percent to BRL 914.8 million, and net sales rose 9.7 percent to BRL 3.38 billion. The company added 2.1 million subscribers in the quarter for a total 31.3 million, up 23 percent from the end of 2006. Postpaid customers made up 21.7 percent of the total. ARPU rose slightly, to BRL 34.5 from BRL 34.0 in Q3, helped by efforts to stimulate usage. Subscriber acquisition costs fell 8.4 percent from a year earlier to BRL 110 in Q4. Capex in the quarter jumped to just over BRL 1 billion from BRL 693 million a year earlier due to spending on the new 3G network.
