Mobile phone group Three Ireland increased its revenues by 16 per cent last year to €174 million, reflecting higher sales of smartphones and a larger customer base.

The company, which is owned by Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa and launched its 3G service in Ireland almost eight years ago, increased its market share to 9 per cent last year from 7.7 per cent in 2011.

Its loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell by 32 per cent to €19 million due to the increased revenue and lower customer acquisition and retention costs.

The company said it broke even on an EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) basis due mainly to a one-off net gain of €45 million on the agreement of a network sharing arrangement with Vodafone.

However, it did not provide either a pre- or post-tax profit or loss figure for the year as a whole.

Chief executive Robert Finnegan noted that Three's revenue has jumped from €98 million in 2010 to €174 million in 2012, growth of 78 per cent.

“While the market is static, our growth is not and in 2013 with the roll out of 4G, that strong performance will continue,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hutchison Whampoa reported turnover of HK$398.4 billion for the year ended 31 December 2012. The conglomerate has six core businesses – ports and related services; property and hotels; retail; infrastructure; energy and telecommunications.

The Hong Kong company closed the year with a profit of HK$26.1 billion. The company said its 3G mobile customer base across Europe increased by 9 per cent in 2012 to 23.5 million.

In Ireland, Three has invested more than €800 million on its network and accumulated losses of more than €500 million since its launch in 2005.