UPDATE: Spark's tilt to mobile, data drives up first-half profit 9%

UPDATE: Spark's tilt to mobile, data drives up first-half profit 9%
Paul McBeth
(Adds detail)  By Paul McBeth Feb. 18 (BusinessDesk) - Spark New Zealand, the country's biggest telecommunications company, lifted first-half profit 9 percent after the heightened focus on driving mobile and broadband revenue paid off, delivering bigger gains than the declining sales in its increasingly obsolete fixed line business.  Net profit rose to $158 million, or 9 cents per share, in the six months ended Dec. 31, from $145 million, or 8 cents, a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. Earnings before intere...