BT Q1 down 7% on Covid impact
July 31, 2020
BT has reported Q1 revenue of £5.24 billion (€5.8bn), down 7 per cent primarily due to the impact of Covid-19, including reduced BT Sport revenue and a reduction in business activity in its enterprise units.
Adjusted EBITDA was £1.81 billion, down 7 per cent, driven by the fall in revenue and continued investment in customer experience, partly offset by Covid-19 mitigating actions and savings from the telco’s transformation programme.
Openreach continues its FTTP rollout with 3 million FTTP premises now passed. BT say they are on track to achieve 4.5 million by March 2021, whilst 5G has now been delpoyed to 100 towns and cities.
Philip Jansen, Chief Executive, commenting on the results, said “Despite Covid-19, BT delivered a strong operating performance in the first quarter and delivered a relatively resilient set of financial results. We continue to invest in the long-term future of the business. We continued to support our customers and colleagues through the crisis, including offering NHS workers on EE unlimited mobile data, and discounts for pubs and clubs on BT Sport until the end of the year. During the quarter Openreach resumed provisioning and repair activity in customer premises, we re-opened the majority of our retail stores, and we saw the restart of the Premier League on BT Sport. Enterprise has today launched the BT Small Business Support Scheme, which will boost cash flow, connectivity and confidence among this critical segment of the economy over the coming months.”
“Throughout this crisis we remain focussed on delivering against our strategic goals to deliver long-term value for shareholders. We reached an important milestone with 3 million FTTP premises now passed, welcomed Ofcom’s consultation on our rural FTTP build proposal, and have now deployed 5G to 100 towns and cities. Together with continued improvements in customer experience and our modernisation programme, we are positively positioned for the future.”
“Although uncertainties remain, we are now able to provide an outlook for this financial year. Despite our strong operational performance in the first three months of the year, it is clear that Covid-19 will continue to impact our business as the full economic consequences unfold. Beyond this year and based on current expectations, we expect to return the business to sustainable adjusted EBITDA growth, driven in part by the recovery from Covid-19.”