Communications giant BT has published its latest quarterly results, and although the company's Chief Executive Ian Livingstone suggests that there "remains a lot to do" in reducing costs, he insists that rolling out a fibre optic network is of paramount importance.
Revenue for BT is down by three per cent, or six per cent excluding foreign exchange movements and acquisitions.
It's not all bad news, however, with the Global Services Division earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) up by 53 per cent on the first quarter, part of a company wide adjusted EBITDA of £1.436 million.
The company's net debt is down to £9.9 billion, and the dividend per share has been put at 2.3p.
Fibre in their diet
BT has already indicated that it is taking steps to improve its communications infrastructure – notably by stepping up the push for a larger fibre optic network.
"We have had another quarter of progress but there remains a lot more to do. With total cost reductions of over £900m in the first half, we have made significant headway towards our previous target of well over £1bn for the full year," said Livingstone.
"We now expect to generate at least £1.6bn of free cash flow this year, compared with our previous target of over £1bn.
"We are investing in the future of the business with an enhanced and accelerated programme of fibre deployment and wider roll out of faster broadband speeds, all within our capital expenditure plans.
"Given our operational performance, we expect to increase dividends by around 5% for the full year. The Board is declaring an interim dividend of 2.3p per share."
