Eircom is seeking a two-year extension to the payment terms of its debt from September 2017 to September 2019.

The company said improving the group’s “debt maturity profile” was the next step in securing a sustainable and flexible long-term capital structure.

In its half-year results, the telecoms company said revenue for the six months to the end of December was €657 million, down 7 per cent on the corresponding period in 2012.

However, it said the figure marked a slowdown in the rate of revenue decline.

Earnings for the period fell by by 1 per cent to €233 million, driven primarily by increased investments in service acquisition costs.

The profitability of the mobile business continues to improve, despite significant commercial spend in the run up to the Christmas period, the company's chief financial officer Richard Moat said.

The retail customer base, comprising fixed and mobile customers, stood at 1,957,000 at the end of December. This included 1,079,000 mobile customers.