BT BEGAN to bid farewell to its departing chief executive yesterday with better than expected revenue and cash flow in its full-year results, boosting shares.
In figures for the year to 31 March, the former state monopoly reported revenue of £20.7 billion, an increase of 2 per cent, with a continued fall in "traditional" revenues from phone calls offset by growth in broadband and international business.
BT shares were buoyed by a 9 per cent rise in cash flow in the fourth quarter to £1.7bn, ahead of market forecasts, boosted by the international business, BT Global. BT shares led the FTSE 100 yesterday, closing up 12p or 5.4 per cent at 235.25p.
Yesterday's results were the last to be presented by chief executive Ben Verwaayen, who has been at the helm of the company for six years. Verwaayen has helped drive the company into newer forms of telecommunications, including a major focus on broadband.
BT said net fourth quarter additions to its broadband service were 150,000, giving it 4.4 million customers, more than any other UK supplier.
Its television service, BT Vision, added more customers than BSkyB and Virgin combined. This helped BT Retail to boost revenue by 2 per cent.
Pre-tax profits were flat during the year at £2.5bn, after a £1.5bn share buyback programme increased BT's debt levels and interest costs.
Next month Verwaayen will be replaced by Ian Livingston, the group's current chief executive of retail.
Yesterday Livingston, a Scot, said there would be little change to BT's overall strategy. He pledged to increase the company's focus on technology and global growth, and signalled initiatives to improve customer service.
He said: "We're already the best in the industry (at customer service], but that isn't good enough."
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The full article contains 310 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
