Orange, Britain's third biggest mobile phone company, yesterday unveiled maiden UK pre-tax profit in the second quarter as record customer growth helped send group half-year sales surging 52 per cent.

Orange, which is pursuing a case in the Irish courts over its failure to win the third mobile phone licence here, said its core British operations turned in a modest quarterly, pre-tax profit of £3 million sterling (€4.5 million) as it posted a 35 per cent improvement in underlying half-year losses to £32.2 million sterling, in line with analysts' forecasts.

Sales jumped to £812.8 million from £534.4 million.

"It's only a very small UK profit but it is the turning point which is significant, and we would expect that momentum to continue," said finance director, Mr Graham Howe.