Aug 3 (Reuters) - Swisscom on Thursday reported a 20% rise in second-quarter operating profit, boosted by growth in its Italian Fastweb division.

The group's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to 542 million Swiss francs ($616.6 million) in the quarter, a touch below analysts' forecast of 546 million francs in a company-compiled consensus.

"Although we have been unable to escape the current inflation unscathed, we are using efficient cost management to cushion the blow of rising costs," CEO Christoph Aeschlimann said in a statement.

Italian unit Fastweb reported year-on-year revenue growth of 4% in the April-June quarter, as its customer base and revenue from business and wholesale customers increased even as competition remained fierce.

Swisscom confirmed its 2023 outlook for net revenue of 11.1-11.2 billion francs and EBITDA of 4.6-4.7 billion francs. ($1 = 0.8790 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Anna Mackenzie and Amir Orusov in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi)