BT reports ninth consecutive quarter of sales decline
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Revenue for the UK telco fell 2% in latest financial quarter, as IT services revenues grew by just 1%
BT suffered its ninth consecutive financial quarter of revenue decline in the three months ending 30 September, the UK telecommunications and IT services provider reported today.
Sales across the organisation fell 2% to £4.9 billion during the second quarter of the current financial year. The last time BT reported positive sales growth was in the first quarter of 2009, when it grew by 1% £5.2 billion.
However, the company's profit before tax during the quarter rose 15% to £570 million, and the sales figures were better than investment analysts. At the time of writing, BT's share price had risen by about 4% following the announcement.
Having previously been something of a drain on its sales growth and profitability, BT's services arm grew in the most recent quarter. However, the 1% growth – up £22 million to £2.0 billion – was more than accounted for by the £31 million positive impact of currency fluctuations.
Some significant contracts were signed by BT Global Services during the quarter, the company said. These include a £640 million contract extension with the Ministry of Defence, a network transformation deal with Best Buy Europe and a voice, data and trading systems deployment with brokerage group CLSA Asia Pacific Martkets.
The company said that is pursuing opportunities for growth in Latin America, expanding its network coverage in Brazil and Colombia, and building a fourth data centre in Mexico City.
BT's telephony and broadband visions, Retail and Wholesale, shrank by 3% and 7% respectively during the quarter. The network management arm, Openreach, was the main growth driver, with sales increasing 4% to £1.3 billion.
