BT Posts £2.5bn Yearly Profit As Results Exceed Expectations

BT added 424,000 new broadband subscribers during 2012 as the company posted a yearly profit of £2.5 billion in results that exceeded expectations.

This was despite a decrease in annual revenue of five percent to £18.25 billion and a two percent drop in fourth quarter revenues to £4.88 million. BT also posted an £833 million profit during the period leading up to 31 March, a drop of five percent.

The number of fibre and copper customers added to its wholesale Openreach network increased by 834,000 in total during 2012, contributing to a total customer base of 17.6 million. There are now 1.5 million customers who receive a fibre service from the Openreach network, with 1.3 million of those receiving their broadband from BT Retail.

BT results

The BT fibre network is now accessible to more than 15 million homes and businesses in the UK, with 200,000 additional properties added each week.

BT has attributed its strong results to its long-term investment strategy that has seen it invest in fibre, Wi-Fi and 4G spectrum, along with its BT Vision platform.

“We are doing what we said we would do. In an environment where it is easier to focus only on the short-term, we are investing in our future and delivering growth in profits and dividends,” said Ian Livingstone, CEO of BT. “We have created around 3,000 new jobs in the UK over the last year to support these investments.”

BT has also invested £738 million over three years to secure live Premier League football rights for its new sport channel BT Sport, which was officially launched yesterday. BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN will be free to all BT fibre and copper broadband subscribers and will broadcast from the International Broadcast Centre in the Olympic Park, for which BT has secured a ten-year lease.

“Our focus on improving efficiency across the business will allow us to continue to deliver strong financial results whilst making these investments.

“We have a lot more to do but we are now a lot better positioned to do it.”

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