Strong growth in postpaid subscribers in Q1 helped propel Verizon Wireless into the position as the world’s most profitable mobile operator for the first time.

China Mobile dropped to second and AT&T was third, according to ABI Research’s profitability analysis.

Verizon also moved to second in the ranking for quarterly gross profit per subscriber ($77.10).

ABI said mobile operators’ revenue for the year is on track to rise 2.9 per cent to just over $1 trillion, after a slight increase of 0.58 per cent in Q1 to $264 billion.

Mobile revenue in western Europe fell by 5.2 per cent during the first three months of the year.

“Facing continued price pressure, mobile carriers have had to take on higher subscriber retention and acquisition costs to support their market positions, which has affected profitability,” said Marina Lu, research analyst at ABI Research.

ABI reported that the major European carriers such as Vodafone, Telefonica, T-Mobile and Orange all faced declines in gross profit in Q1, while operators in North America demonstrated a positive outlook for gross profit.