Telemar’s Net Falls

TeleNorteLeste Participações , Brazil’s largest phone company, said first-quarter profit fell 12% to $76 million as operations costs and taxes rose. Financial expenses rose 14% in the quarter to $253 million, while taxes and social-security contributions almost tripled to $77 million. Locally-owned Telemar has about $4.8 billion in debt, more than two-thirds of which is denominated in reais.