UPDATE: Spark 1H profit dips 5.6% as Southern Cross withholds dividend

Tue, 19 Feb 2019

(Updates with added detail from 8th paragraph) By Paul McBeth Feb. 20 (BusinessDesk) - Spark New Zealand's first-half profit dipped 5.6 percent due to Southern Cross Cables deciding not to pay a dividend while it mulls the investment needed for a new underwater cable. However, underlying earnings rose 7.2 percent as the country's biggest telecommunications company fattened margins in its mobile, broadband and cloud, security and service management units. Net profit fell to $153 million in the six months ended Dec. 31 from $162 mil...

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