Global Voice, the Irish-run but Singapore-listed operator of fibre-optic networks, has announced revenues of €10.4 million and a pretax profit of €1.4 million for the six months to the end of June.

The firm, which trades as EuNetworks in Europe, said 34 new customers and 113 separate new lease agreements had enabled a "strong return to profitability".

Total revenues were down from €14.8 million during the same period in 2006, but the company said that, when non-recurring infrastructure sales and revenues from discontinued operations were stripped out, there was a 20 per cent increase.

Global Voice said its average contract duration had lengthened to almost three years and its average deal size had grown by 9 per cent compared to the previous six-month period.

Organisations that signed up with EuNetworks include the Deutsche Börse stock exchange, Big Brothercreator Endemol, and cable operator UPC.

In the first half of the year, Global Voice also completed the current phase of its next-generation networks project, with all of its key metropolitan networks now connected to its long-haul Euro-nex network.

The group added operations in Stuttgart and Hamburg, and now has high-density metropolitan networks in 15 European cities as well as a long-haul inter-city network connecting them.

The cost of building the infrastructure was more than €1.3 billion, but Global Voice acquired the assets at a significant discount over the past few years.

Global Voice also led the creation of Euro-one, a partnership between a number of fibre-optic providers to create an 85,000km (53,000-mile) network linking more than 350 cities in Europe and North America.

"We are pleased with the start of the second half of 2007 and, with the benefits of significant new agreements already signed, and our strongest-ever sales pipeline, we believe [ Global Voice] is very well positioned to continue achieve strong growth in revenues, profitability, and shareholder value for the full fiscal year 2007," said chief executive Noel Meaney.