Telecoms giant BT has reported a 14% rise in pre-tax profit to £2.6bn for year end to 31 March – alongside a small dip in revenues of 2% to £17.85bn.
“It’s been a ground-breaking year for BT, in which we’ve made some key decisions and announced some major investments to underpin the future growth of the business,” said Gavin Patterson, BT chief executive.
“Profit before tax and free cash flow have both grown strongly and we have delivered or beaten the outlook we set at the start of the year.
“Our performance during the year is reflected in our full year dividend, which is up 14%. Our results and the investments we are making position us well for the future and enable us to increase our free cash flow outlook for the coming year.”
BT said that its superfast broadband network now reaches more than three-quarters of the UK with an upgrade to ‘ultrafast’ in the pipeline. Patterson said this will be a multi-year investment by Openreach and will provide faster speeds for the entire market.
Openreach added almost half a million premises to its network in the fourth quarter with the retail business delivering 266,000 of these connections – an all time high.
BT also reported that its BT Sport TV channels are now in more than 5.2 million homes, with the customer base growing again in the quarter.
The company currently shows Premier League matches, and paid £960m for the rights to screen 42 games a season for three years from 2016-17. BT will also show Champions League football next season after paying £897m for the rights.
Last week shareholders approved BT’s proposed £12.5 billion acquisition of EE – the largest mobile network operator in the UK with 31 million customers. EE also has the largest 4G customer base of any operator in Europe.
The BT and EE transaction is subject to approval by the shareholders of BT and merger clearance, in particular from the UK Competition and Markets Authority. It is expected to complete before the end of BT’s 2015/16 financial year.
“While we await regulatory approval, we have pushed ahead with our own mobility plans,” Patterson added.
In March BT announced that its broadband homes will get exclusive access to a range of discounted 4G tariffs, which could save them up to 50% compared to non-BT Broadband homes, while BT Mobile customers will be given access to free BT Sport via the BT Sport app.
