BT trading hit by weak phone sales as thousands of jobs go in ongoing revamp
BT trading hit by weak phone sales as thousands of jobs go in ongoing revamp
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Telecoms giant BT has revealed revenues remained under pressure amid weaker phone sales as it also confirmed thousands more jobs have gone under an ongoing cost-cutting overhaul. The group reported a 3% drop in revenues to £5.2 billion in its third quarter to the end of December, as tough trading outside the UK and lower handset sales offset a boost from price hikes and growth in its ultra fast broadband network.
BT said its cost-cutting drive saw its workforce reduce by another 3% to 117,000 in the first nine months of its financial year so far. The firm has previously announced plans to slash up to 55,000 jobs worldwide by 2030 as it looks to shave billions of pounds off its cost base.
Chief executive Allison Kirkby is also considering selling off or breaking up its international arm, which the group has been carving out from the rest of the business, as it looks to refocus on its UK operations. Shares in the group fell as much as 5% in Thursday morning trading after the update, despite the results showing that cost savings helped underlying pre-tax profits rise 1% to £427 million in its third quarter.
Ms Kirkby said: “Benefits from our cost transformation more than offset lower revenue outside the UK and weak handset sales.”. “We continue to make progress towards becoming fully focused on the UK, with the sale of our data centre business in Ireland,” she added.
