Colt shines through the gloom

COLT Telecom offered some respite from the telecoms gloom, surging more than 42% after it surprised the City with strong March quarter trading.

The business telecoms group jumped from a record low of 33p to 47p, adding more than £210m to market value after underlying earnings more than doubled from £4.6m to £9.8m.

Sales rose from £209m to £247m boosted by strong demand for high-value internet services.

Chief executive Peter Manning said it was winning customers ahead of troubled rivals such as Energis. But he warned the continuing meltdown is robbing Colt of £5m a quarter as the struggling telecoms companies stop renting capacity on its network. He said: 'We are very cautious about saying when the downturn is going to end.'