BT third-quarter earnings “slightly below” expectations

Chief Executive Philip Jansen remains confident the company will meet its yearly targets

BT Group has today reported a three per cent decline in revenue and a four per cent fall in core earnings, admitting their third-quarter results were “slightly below expectations”.

Revenue for the company fell from £5.98bn to £5.78bn while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation declined from £2.06bn to £1.98bn.

Chief Executive Philip Jansen said: “BT delivered results slightly below our expectations for the third quarter of the year, but we remain on track to meet our outlook for the full year.

“We continue to invest in the business. During the quarter we launched Halo, the UK’s ultimate converged plan, which will give homes and businesses the best connection and service.

“We’ve continued to use our national scale and local presence across the UK to provide customers with the best possible experience, for example by meeting our promise to answer all customer calls in the UK and Ireland and bringing BT sales and service back to the high street in nearly 500 BT/EE stores.

The telecoms giant also claims that the recent decision to allow Huawei to have a limited role in the UK’s 5G networks will cost BT around £500m over the next five years.

“The security of our network is paramount for BT. We therefore welcome and are supportive of the clarity provided by government around the use of certain vendors in networks across the UK and agree that the priority should be the security of the UK’s communications infrastructure.

“We are in the process of reviewing the guidance in detail to determine the full impact on our plans and at this time estimate an impact of around £500 million over the next 5 years.

“I’m really excited about the long-term prospects for this great company and I‘m confident our plans will enable us to be bolder, smarter, and faster to ensure that we remain successful and create a better BT for the future.”