Phone firm's growth return

THE company behind merged mobile phone giants Orange and T-Mobile has returned to growth in the third quarter, albeit by the slimmest of margins.

Everything Everywhere said sales grew to 1.8 billion - an increase of 0.1 per cent compared to the same period the previous year - due mainly to the firm increasing its number of contract customers by 185,000 and amid strong demand for smartphones. In the second quarter, sales were down by 4.8 per cent year-on-year.

Last month the company said it was cutting 7.5 per cent of its 16,000-strong workforce to end duplicated roles following its merger earlier this year.