ITOUCH, the mobile phone information company in which Independent News & Media has a 50 per cent stake, has reported losses of £9.9 million sterling (€16.55 million) for the nine months to the end of September. Revenues for the period were £2.3 million, of which £1.2 million came in the third quarter.

The results, broadly in line with forecasts, left iTouch shares unchanged on 61p sterling, 9p below last August's flotation price of 70p sterling. Independent and its South African partners had planned to float iTouch at 100p to 130p but had to pull back the flotation price.

ITouch chairman Mr Ivan Fallon said the latest period was "an excellent third quarter in both our corporate and consumer businesses". The South African business had third quarter revenues 59 per cent higher than the second quarter while the Irish business had a 40 per cent increase in revenues over the second quarter.