reported revenues of $117.7 million and a profit of $15.2 million for third quarter ended September 30.

The company had net income of $485,000 in the same period last year when it was just commencing operations.

Global Crossing chief executive officer Jack Scanlon said the results reflected an increased demand for capacity on the company's Atlantic network.

"Our results for the quarter keep us ahead of schedule with our business plan,'' he said. "In addition to becoming a publicly traded company, we made significant progress during the quarter in aggressively developing and marketing our global network. We have achieved a clear leadership position as the first independent company developing a global fibre optic network and are on schedule to interconnect 100 of the top cities in the world for telecommunications traffic.'' The company contract sales through the third quarter totalled $767 million, a 38 percent increase over second quarter sales. The purchases included a contract with Level 3 Communications worth $100 million.

"The demand for bandwidth continues to accelerate,'' Mr. Scanlon said. "This is being driven by deregulation, multiple new carriers and the growth of the Internet and corporate data traffic.'' The company's underwater fibre optic system between the US and Europe is the first segment of a global network.