BT profits fall but group insists it remains ‘on track’
Telecoms giant BT Group reported a 10 per cent drop in reported profit before tax on top of a three per cent decline in adjusted revenue, while reaffirming it is ‘on track’ to achieve full-year guidance.
In a trading update for the three months to 30 June, the FTSE 100 company informed shareholders its reported profit before tax was down 10 per cent to £468m, “primarily due to an increase in net finance costs and depreciation and amortisation”.
Its reported and adjusted revenue was down three per cent year-on-year to £4.9bn, “mainly due to weaker handset sales in consumer and continued challenging international trading”.
The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) was slightly down by one per cent to £2.1bn due to “strong cost transformation”.
From a business perspective its consumer customer base grew in the quarter, with broadband base up 11,000 and postpaid mobile base up 41,000.
However, consumer broadband average revenue per user was down two per cent year-on-year to £41.9 and postpaid mobile average revenue per user of £19.4 broadly flat year-on-year. The group said is continues “to expect a similar seasonal growth pattern as FY25”.
Fibre boost, and finance chief shake up
BT told shareholders it had a record customer demand for Openreach fibre to the premises, with net adds up 46 per cent year-on-year to 566,000. Its total premises connected 7.1m, increasing its market-leading take up rate to 37 per cent.
But Openreach’s broadband lines fell by 169,000, “driven by losses to competitors and a weaker broadband market”. However, the group’s full year expectation remains unchanged.
This comes as the company posted pre-tax profits of £1.3bn in the year to end March, a jump of 12 per cent, which Chief Executive Allison Kirkby attributed to “strong cost control and a step-up in focus and transformation” after delivering £900m in annualised cost savings.
Commenting on the results, Kirkby said: “BT has had a solid start to the year, with our full fibre broadband now reaching more than 19m homes and businesses and our 5G network available to over 87 per cent of the UK population.”
As a result, the FTSE 100 company declared a final dividend of 5.76p per share in May, bringing its full-year dividend to 8.16p, an increase of two per cent on the previous year.
“We’re seeing strong customer demand for our next-generation broadband and mobile connectivity across all our brands, with record Openreach fibre take-up again this quarter. And we’re delivering on our transformation, as we radically simplify our business while improving customer experience.”
“BT is investing more than anyone else in the nation’s networks, we’re connecting customers faster, and we’re on track to deliver our targets for this year, next year, and the end of the decade – creating a better BT, for all of us,” she added.
Additionally to its quarter results, BT announced that group chief financial officer Simon Lowth is planning to retire from the business. Following that decision, BT has appointed Patricia Cobian to succeed him.
Cobian is currently finance chief at Virgin Media O2, and is set to join this business in mid-2026.