AT&T Inc. on Tuesday posted higher quarterly profit, bolstered by strong growth in wireless and high-speed Internet services.

Earnings, including AT&T's 60 percent stake in Cingular Wireless but excluding merger-related costs and other special items, were 58 cents a share, up 35 percent from a year earlier.

Analysts had expected 53 cents per share before special items, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company said earnings were helped by a rise in Cingular subscribers.

Shares of AT&T closed at $27.78 on Monday. They have risen 17 percent in the past 12 months, outperforming a 7 percent rise in the Standard & Poor's index of telecommunications providers .

AT&T was formed through the November 2005 merger between SBC Communications Inc. and AT&T Corp. It is set to buy BellSouth Corp. later this year, taking full control of Cingular, their mobile phone joint venture.