3_logo3G-only network 3 (H3G to it’s friends) has reduced pre-tax losses in the UK from £791 million to £152 million for the year to December 2008.

Revenue at the parent group, Hutchinson Whampoa of Hong Kong, is also up 18% to £1.5 billion.

The operator has 8% of the British market, equivalent to around 4.9 million customers. Enders Analysis’ James Barford told The Times: “The UK appears to be performing relatively well, growing at 11 per cent in a market that is now growing at only 2-3 per cent.”

Rumours of a merger with an existing larger mobile operator have been around for a while – being fuelled recently by the announcement of a deal in Australia where the group merged with the domestic operations of Vodafone and ditched the 3 brand. A recent infrastructure-sharing deal with T-Mobile in the UK could also pave the way to closer working with it’s competitors.

via 3 reduces its mobile phone losses in the UK to £152m – Times Online.