PHONE and internet group TalkTalk reported its strongest quarter for customer sing-ups in two years today.

The firm, which employs about 1,000 staff at its Warrington call centre, said it added 66,000 net new customers in the first quarter of the year.

It revealed revenues for the six months to September 30 today of £828m, down from £844m a year ago, while pre-tax profits, after exceptional and one-off costs, were £46m, marginally better than last year’s £41m level.

It reported a continued strong take-up of its broadening range of additional products and said it had embarked on the next phase to deliver savings of between £30m and £50m. Meanwhile, it expects to deliver forecast figures for the full financial year to 2013.

Customers of its premium Plus TV service grew by 44% year-on-year and now make up 29% of its network base.

Its new phone handset service available to TalkTalk customers saw strong demand with 32,000 customers adding a mobile connection to their service.

TalkTalk chief executive Dido Harding said today: “These results show real trading momentum and are a strong platform from which to build towards our medium term growth targets.

“We have successfully launched our TV proposition and have installed 29,000 customers to date.

“Customer feedback has been positive and we are growing the base according to plan, at 1,000 per day.

“Meanwhile, our mobile handset proposition is growing meaningfully in the contract handset market.  The demand we are seeing for additional products from our increasingly profitable and stable customer base, the progress we are making in TalkTalk Business, and the savings we expect from the next phase of simplifying the business, underpin our confidence in delivering our targeted revenues and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin in the medium term.”