BT reports pre-tax profits up 4%

Telecoms group BT today said it had reached a broadband milestone a year early as it reported a 4% rise in pre-tax profits.

BT said it had more than doubled the number of broadband connections during the year to March 31, helping it to hit its five million target a year ahead of schedule.

It said pre-tax profits in the fourth quarter were up 21% at £557m (€808.6m), contributing to full-year profits, before goodwill and one-off items, of £2.085bn (€3bn).

The company, which has been focusing on broadband to offset a decline in its traditional fixed line business, said turnover in so-called “new-wave” businesses such as broadband rose 27% to £1.4bn (€2bn).

Chief executive Ben Verwaayen said its fourth-quarter performance had been excellent, representing five quarters in a row of underlying revenue growth.

“These are great results and we expect to see the overall revenue trends continuing,” he said.