British telecoms giant Cable & Wireless reported an upturn in full-year profits yesterday but warned that future results would be pegged back by a heavy investment programme as it seeks to expand its data and Internet services.

Cable & Wireless is a 52 per cent shareholder in Cable & Wireless Communications. The latter company bought out Cable & Wireless Ireland last November for £14 million (€17.78 million). The Irish operation employs 220 people.

Cable & Wireless yesterday announced that full-year pre-tax profits before exceptional items rose by 3 per cent to £1.639 billion sterling (€2.46 billion). But the group warned that profits in the current year would be drained "significantly" by a heavy investment programme and economic problems in Hong Kong which are affecting subsidiary HongKong Telecommunications Ltd.