BT Group reported a 35 per cent sales jump after the acquisition of wireless carrier EE, and cited strong demand for the broadband network it is negotiating to maintain control of with British regulators.
Advertisement
Ebitda increased by 25 percent in the quarter to £1.818 billion, although underlying Ebitda was down two percent, reflecting the launch of BT Mobile handsets, the company said.
UNDER-fire telecoms giant BT Group has seen its first quarter results beat expectations as the acquisition of EE earlier this year boosted revenues.
EE contributed 21.5 percent, or £1.243 billion, to BT’s total revenues, falling just behind its Global Services (£1.25 billion) and Openreach (£1.252 billion) businesses.
Shares in the firm were up more than 3% on the London market.
Gavin Patterson, Chief Executive, said: “Our integration of EE is progressing well, alongside our business reorganisation”.
But Ofcom recommended that Openreach, which owns the pipes and telephone cables the majority of United Kingdom homes and businesses use to access the broadband and phone network, should take control of its customer relations and establish its own board.
Since the end of the quarter, BT has made BT Sport available to EE post-paid mobile customers, with the BT Sport app available for free for six months and then as a £5 a month add-on.
A number of providers feel that Openreach in fact ought to be completely independent body, fully separate from BT, something which Ofcom felt would be too complicated and risky.
“We will continue to engage with Ofcom and stakeholders in the coming months”, he added.
“By bundling these services together, it’s hoped that customer churn will reduce, which in turn supports revenue and profit visibility”.
Advertisement
“Blots on the copybook could come from the potential difficulty associated with integrating an operation the size of EE, while the performance of Openreach will also be watched closely, following Ofcom’s latest reforms”.
