Ian Livingston, Chief Executive, commenting on the results, said:
“BT continues to make good progress, delivering another quarter of solid growth in underlying profit before tax. This is despite the impact of regulation and the significant investments we are making for the future.
“It is early days but we are very pleased with the strong start in BT Sport. More than half a million households have now ordered BT Sport and that’s before the channels have even launched.
“Our consumer line loss is at its lowest level in five years and we took a 50% share of the broadband4 market net additions. Our SME business grew revenues by 1%, the best performance in more than four years, and our BT Global Services order intake was up almost 50%.
“Fibre remains at the heart of our plans and take-up is strong. Our fibre network now passes more than 16 million premises with more than 1.7 million connected.
“I am immensely proud to have led BT over the last five years. The foundations are in place for an exciting future and I’m confident that BT will make even more progress under Gavin’s leadership and our talented team.”