Telecommunications lines company Chorus has had a solid lift in profit as revenue rose on increased fibre usage and it kept a lid on expenses.Key numbers for the 12 months ended June compared with a year ago:Net profit $37m vs $4mRevenue $1.03b vs $1.014bOperating earnings $726m vs $705mForecast operating earnings $730m-$760mFY dividend 60 cents per share vs 57.5 cpsThe company pressed on with its all fibre strategy as it reported more connections and consumers spending more."We are building momentum towards a simpler, more focused business, while continuing to invest in the digital infrastructure New Zealand will rely on for decades," chief executive Mark Aue said.Chorus added about 32,000 more fibre connections in the past financial year to a total of 1,147,000, while data usage rose about 9 percent.Aue said if global trends were anything to go by, artificial intelligence and data centre growth would create the next wave of demand."As connectivity becomes increasingly fundamental to learning, working, accessing services and staying connected to communities, we are focused on practical ways to help more people access and benefit from fibre."Copper phone lines continued to be cut with another 48,000 disconnections, and the company aimed to have copper retired from the network ahead of its earlier 2028 deadline. There were about 44,000 copper connections left nationwide, the bulk of them in areas where fibre was not available.The company forecast a modest increase in operating earnings and dividend."The future is increasingly digital, AI-enabled and dependent on fibre. Chorus is uniquely positioned to power that future," Aue said.