BT revenues up slightly but profits are down

BT revealed its fourth quarter results today, with new wave revenue rising and traditional revenue continuing to fall.

Fourth quarter revenues were up percent to £5.4 Billion from £5.29 Billion in the previous quarter.  However, the group incurred restructing costs of £402 Million, which was initially estimated to be £450 Million.  Pre-tax profit after specific items fell by 11 percent  to £595 Million compared to £668 Million in the fourth quarter last year.

BT is of course counting on its new wave revenue to take the group forward.  BT Retail, which provides the BT Total Broadband service, recorded a rise of 5 percent.  Increased take-up of networked IT services also contributed to a 9 precent rise in its Major corporate customer segment.

BT Wholesale (UK and Global Carrier) saw a decrese in revenue revenue of 5 per cent due to the impact of volume and pricing of its DSL broadband service.  However, BT Wholesale managed to get £1 Billion worth of contracts signed in the same quarter.

Sir Michael Rake, Chairman commented: “In 2008/09, we expect to deliver continued growth in revenue, EBITDA2 and earnings per share2 as we continue our transformation from a fixed-line business into a software-driven global communications services company.  We also expect our free cash flow to be at a similar level to last year.”