BT reveals dip in earnings despite 'solid start' to year

Telecoms giant BT has revealed its earnings dipped slightly over the past three months despite continued cost-cutting.

Shares nudged lower in early trading on Thursday despite bosses hailing a “solid start” to the financial year.

It came as the company, which has been led by Allison Kirkby since 2024, continues to cut costs and invest in fibre broadband to help drive further growth.

BT told shareholders that adjusted earnings dipped by 1% to £2.01 billion for the quarter to June 30, compared with a year earlier.

The group said progress in its cost-cutting strategy was offset by lower margins in its broadband and voice businesses.

Pre-tax profits slipped by 4% to £505 million after being impacted by higher finance costs, although this was partly offset by low restructuring costs.

Meanwhile, revenues across BT were flat at £4.3 billion for the quarter, with a 1% decline in adjusted UK service revenue.

BT said it has been boosted by the growth of its fibre business, with Openreach fibre-to-the-premises adding 574,000 customers in the quarter.

However, it said Openreach broadband lines decreased by 192,000 for the quarter, with losses on track to reach 800,000 for the year.

Ms Kirkby said: “No-one is upgrading and investing in the country’s digital backbone at the scale and pace that BT is.

“We remain on track to deliver our targets, including cash flow of around £2 billion this year and £3 billion by the end of the decade – as we create a better BT, for all of us.”

Duncan Ferris, analyst at Freetrade, said: “BT’s expansion of its fibre network means better monetisation of a network it spent years building.

“It means providers can sell faster and more expensive packages to customers, generating recurring wholesale income.

“In short, the greater the uptake, the better BT’s return on investment.

“But the company’s financials reflect that work is still in progress.”

BT shares were down 0.5% on Thursday.

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