MILAN, June 15 Reuters The recently appointed chief executive of Telecom Italia said on Wednesday he hoped the former phone monopoly could surprise markets with positive firsthalf results.

On August 3 we will publish results for the first half of the year, CEO Pietro Labriola said at the presentation of the group39;s new communication campaign. We hope to surprise with positive results.

Labriola, who was confirmed in the CEO39;s role only in January, also said that the company39;s future strategy of separation of the landline grid from its service businesses was not a reason to delay hitting the company39;s targets.

Business is business. It goes on in parallel to the topic of company39;s future, he told journalists during a news conference.

TIM39;s core profit fell sharply in the first quarter hit by shrinking revenues in its hypercompetitive domestic market, where demand for connectivity weakened after a pandemicdriven surge.

The company has signed a preliminary agreement with state lender CDP over the possible creation of a single national network operator.

Reporting by Francesco Zecchini, writing by Maria Pia Quaglia; editing by Valentina Za and Keith Weir

Source Reuters