BT cuts costs to offset revenue slide
BT had to rely on deep cost cuts in the first quarter to lift core earnings 2 per cent after tough conditions in southern Europe and the financial sector hit overall revenues.
Britain’s biggest fixed-line telecoms firm reported first quarter revenues down 6 per cent to £4.48bnand an outflow of normalised free cash flow of £124m.
But cost cuts helped the group to lift adjusted profit before tax up 8 per cent and earnings per share by 10 per cent.
The results follow a previously solid performance after it hiked its dividend and promised a share buyback in May.
“We have delivered another quarter of profit growth and the 11th consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings per share growth, although our quarterly cash flow was impacted by the timing of working capital movements,” chief executive Ian Livingston said.