GTE Corp. said its first-quarter profit edged...

GTE Corp. said its first-quarter profit edged up 3.7% from a year earlier, while another major telecommunications concern, Nynex Corp., posted a 15.2% gain. GTE, based in Stamford, Conn., said its Sprint long-distance telephone operation, which--pending regulatory approval--is to be spun off into a joint venture with United Telecommunications, continued to show losses in the period. New York-based Nynex provides telephone service for most of New York and New England.