BT 4G, fiber expansion comes as telco records $1.65 billion net profit in fiscal Q4
Including its Openreach broadband unit and EE mobile business, BT said its “4G” and fiber expansion plans will cost a projected 6 billion pounds ($8.7 billion) over the next three years, with the goal to cover 95% of the country with LTE technology by 2020.
“Our multibillion pound investment plans will see both fiber and 4G reach 95% of the U.K. and we won’t stop there,” said BT CEO Gavin Patterson. “The U.K. is a digital leader and our investment in ultrafast broadband will help it stay ahead.”
BT earlier this year completed its 12.5 billion pound acquisition for full control of EE, which was previously a joint venture between Deutsche Telekom and Orange. “The integration of EE is going well and we now see the opportunity to deliver more synergies than we originally expected, and at a lower cost,” Patterson said. “And we’re reorganizing our business to better serve customers both in the UK and internationally.”
BT said it now expects cost synergies due to the integration with EE to reach a run-rate of around 400 million pounds per year in the fourth full year (previously forecast at around 360 million pounds), of which it expect to realize 100 million pounds in 2016 and 2017.
BT recorded a net profit of 1.14 billion pounds in its fiscal Q4 ended March 31, an increase of 11% vs. the year-ago quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 14% year-on-year to 2.07 billion pounds, while revenue surged 22% to 5.65 billion pounds. The company’s capital expenditures in fiscal Q4 amounted to 776 million pounds, a 14% vs. the same quarter the previous year. EE’s quarterly revenues totaled 1.05 billion pounds, while Openreach’s revenues grew 2% to 1.29 billion pounds.
EE currently counts 30.6 million mobile customers, while BT Mobile ended March with more than 400,000 subscribers.
BT’s Global Services unit generated 1.75 billion pounds in Q4 revenues, down 2% compared to the year-ago quarter; while BT Consumer recorded 1.19 billion pounds in revenues, an 8% year-on-year increase; and BT Business’ quarterly revenues totaled 821 million pounds, climbing 2% year-on-year.
Last month, BT instituted a new business structure, under which BT has six lines of business: Consumer; EE; Business and Public Sector; Global Services; Wholesale and Ventures; and Openreach.
