BT earnings up 6pc
BT posted a six per cent rise in first-quarter adjusted core earnings, generated strong cash flow and reiterated its outlook after taking further costs out of the business.
Britain’s biggest fixed-line telecoms provider said its group revenues were down four per cent to £5bn in line with forecasts, while core earnings were up six per cent to £1.4bn, slightly ahead of expectations.
BT has been plagued by underperformance at its Global Services unit, which caused two profit warnings at the group, but it has started to turn the company around after cutting costs. Its total labour costs were down eight per cent on last year.
Its pension funding deficit valuation, another cause for concern for investors, was put at £6.6bn at the end of March, compared with an earlier valuation of £9bn from the end of 2008.