BT reports pre-tax profits up 4%
Telecoms group BT today said it had reached a broadband milestone a year early as it reported a 4% rise in pre-tax profits.
BT said it had more than doubled the number of broadband connections during the year to March 31, helping it to hit its five million target a year ahead of schedule.
It said pre-tax profits in the fourth quarter were up 21% at £557m (€808.6m), contributing to full-year profits, before goodwill and one-off items, of £2.085bn (€3bn).
The company, which has been focusing on broadband to offset a decline in its traditional fixed line business, said turnover in so-called “new-wave” businesses such as broadband rose 27% to £1.4bn (€2bn).
Chief executive Ben Verwaayen said its fourth-quarter performance had been excellent, representing five quarters in a row of underlying revenue growth.
“These are great results and we expect to see the overall revenue trends continuing,” he said.
