Telefonica Chile 1st quarter profit falls 8.2 percent

SANTIAGO, April 23 (Reuters) - Telefonica Chile CTCa.SN, the nation's largest telecommunications company, said late on Wednesday its first quarter profit fell 8.2 percent amid higher costs.

The company, controlled by Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said its profit for the first three months of the year was 1.045 billion pesos ($2.4 million), compared to 1.138 billion pesos in the same period last year.

Its revenue in the quarter was 157.3 billion pesos, 1.4 percent higher than the first three months last year.

In 2007, Telefonica Chile saw its profit fall by more than half amid flat sales growth and higher costs associated with the promotion of newer business lines such as broadband and paid television.

The company, which has seen revenue slowed by declines in traditional fixed-line phone business, is looking to broadband and paid television services to help spur new growth.

Financing the new business units, however, raised operating costs in the first quarter by 3.9 percent versus the same period in 2007. ($1=437.71 at end March) (Reporting by Monica Vargas; writing by Pav Jordan; Editing by Michael Urquhart)