The results show that revenue was at £20.7 billion, down 1 per cent with the growth in Openreach more than offset by decline in the other units. In addition, adjusted EBITDA was at £7.9 billion, up 5 per cent due to growth in Openreach and consumers offset by a decline in enterprise.
The company said these revenue and adjusted EBITDA figures were in line with its outlook for FY23, despite significant headwinds. It added that normalised free cash flow was delivered at the lower end of its guidance range due to increased cash capital expenditure, primarily in Openreach.
41 per cent of the company’s FTTP build is now completed, with 702k premises passed in the quarter at an average build rate of 54k per week. The full FTTP footprint is now at 10.3m, up 43 per cent, with a further 6m where initial build is underway.
There has also been a record of consumer FTTP connections, with this up 50 per cent year-on-year and the base now at over 1.7m. In the mobile space, the company now has 8.6m 5G connections, up 62 per cent on last year.
BT is continuing to look to cut costs, with gross annualised cost savings of £2.1 billion since April 2020 against a £3 billion target. It will also look to cut 55,000 jobs by the end of 2023, with total labour resource expected to reduce from 130,000 to 75-90,000 by FY28-FY30.
Philip Jansen, chief executive, BT, said, “We have delivered our outlook for FY23: this year we’ve grown both pro forma revenue and EBITDA for the first time in six years while navigating an extraordinary macro-economic backdrop. Over the last four years we have stuck firmly to our strategy and it’s working.
“Openreach is competing strongly and it’s clear that customers love full fibre. The Openreach Board has reaffirmed its target to reach 25 million premises with FTTP by the end of 2026 and plans to further accelerate take-up on the network. In consumer we’re delivering for customers with strong growth in FTTP and 5G, and we’re also seeing green shoots in B2B with a return to revenue growth in the final quarter in global and the creation of our newly integrated business unit.
“By continuing to build and connect like fury, digitise the way we work and simplify our structure, by the end of the 2020s BT Group will rely on a much smaller workforce and a significantly reduced cost base. New BT Group will be a leaner business with a brighter future.”