Overland Park, Kansas-based telecommunications operator, Embarq Corporation, reported a rise in first-quarter profit Tuesday, despite losses in its core landline telephone business.

Embarq’s quarterly net income came in at $212 million, or $1.38/share, up from $160 million in the first three months of 2007. Revenue, meanwhile, fell slightly to $1.57 billion, from $1.59 billion in Q1/2007, as the company’s landline customer base decreased by 7.3% over the one-year period.

Approximately 120,000 local telephone lines were lost in the first quarter alone, leaving Embarq with around 6.19 million landline subscribers. The surge in quarterly profit was largely due to lower expenses, as well as continued growth in the high-speed internet market.

When announcing its first-quarter results, Embarq lowered its full-year revenue outlook, projecting something in the range of $5.72 billion to $5.80 billion, compared to a previous forecast of $5.75 billion to $5.83 billion.