Cable & Wireless shows reduced losses

Telecoms group Cable & Wireless resumed dividend payments to shareholders today after a major restructuring drive helped narrow annual losses.

The group said results for the year to March 31 showed it had stabilised its UK operation, while cost-cutting and a reduction in one-off charges helped improve losses to £224m (€336m) from £6.37bn (€9.58bn) a year earlier.

Chairman Richard Lapthorne announced a full-year dividend of 3.15p a share as the London-based company resumed payouts following last year’s suspension.

Last June C&W pledged action to reverse a two-year decline which had seen shares slump following a string of profits warnings, mainly because of problems at its internet and data services division, Global.

Since then C&W has pulled out of the United States and restructured its core UK business, including through a 23% reduction in staff numbers to 4,398.

Today’s results show revenues in the UK bucked the downward trend of the last three years with the performance for the second half of the year slightly ahead of the first half at £836m (€1.25bn).

C&W said it now had a platform on which to “reconstruct its position in the UK” with the next phase set to be driven by the need to address customer needs and capitalise on opportunities in the market.