BT Group Finals

[idpickering]

Key strategic developments

· FTTP build targets increased from 3m to 4m premises passed by March 2021; FTTP ambition increased from 10m to 15m by mid-2020s and remains subject to conditions being right

· EE to launch 5G imminently and on track to go live in 16 cities in 2019 with a range of device partners

· Continued quarterly improvement in customer experience metrics; Group NPS1 up 6.5 points, Right First Time2 up 5.4%

· Initiatives to transform our business are on track; restructuring programme achieved annualised cost savings of £875m

Operational:

· Openreach passed c.2m premises with Gfast and c.1.2m with FTTP; now passing c.20,000 premises with FTTP per week

· BT Plus takeup remains encouraging with around 1 million subscribers since May 2018 launch

· Consumer fixed ARPC down 0.3% in the quarter to £38.8 reflecting retail market competition; postpaid mobile ARPC down 0.9% in the quarter to £20.9 due to increased mix of SIM only; RGUs per address stable at 2.37

· Mobile churn down to 1.1% reflecting improved retention and successful device launches; fixed churn flat at 1.4%

Financial:

· Reported revenue of £23,428m and adjusted revenue of £23,459m both down 1%4 as growth in Consumer was offset by regulated price reductions in Openreach and declines in our enterprise businesses, in particular in fixed voice

· Reported profit before tax of £2,666m, up 2%; adjusted3 EBITDA of £7,392m, down 2%4

· Net cash inflow from operating activities of £4,256m, down 14% mainly due to pension deficit payments, increased capital expenditure and lower EBITDA; normalised free cash flow3 of £2,440m, down 18%

· Capital expenditure £3,963m, up £441m, of which £213m relates to BDUK grant funding deferral including the change in take-up assumption announced in Q2, and the remainder primarily to increased investment in FTTP

· Proposed final dividend of 10.78p pence per share, giving a full-year dividend of 15.4p; unchanged on last year

· Outlook for 2019/20: adjusted3 revenue down c.2%, adjusted3 EBITDA £7.2bn - £7.3bn, capital expenditure5 £3.7bn - £3.9bn and normalised free cash flow3 of £1.9bn - £2.1bn

https://www.investegate.co.uk/bt-group- ... 00074428Y/

[daveh]

Also in the results:

"For 2018/19 the Board has decided to hold the full year dividend unchanged at 15.4p per share. The Board also expects to hold the dividend unchanged in respect of the current financial year given our outlook for earnings and cash flow."

and after a convoluted search of the BT web site:

paid 9sept ex 8th Aug record 9th Aug
Why oh why do some companies make it so dificult to find these dates!

[kempiejon]

'For 2018/19 the Board has decided to hold the full year dividend unchanged at 15.4p per share. The Board also expects to hold the dividend unchanged in respect of the current financial year given our outlook for earnings and cash flow,' the company said.

and it was 15.4p in 2017 as well and they expect 15.4 for 2020. Still, yielding over 7%.

[idpickering]

'For 2018/19 the Board has decided to hold the full year dividend unchanged at 15.4p per share. The Board also expects to hold the dividend unchanged in respect of the current financial year given our outlook for earnings and cash flow,' the company said.

and it was 15.4p in 2017 as well and they expect 15.4 for 2020. Still, yielding over 7%.

I intend topping up before the exdiv date.

Ian.

[idpickering]

Also in the results:




and after a convoluted search of the BT web site:

paid 9sept ex 8th Aug record 9th Aug
Why oh why do some companies make it so dificult to find these dates!

I gleaned that information via dividendata.co.uk who updated their info before 0830.

Ian.

[tjh290633]

There was a link in the original RNS to http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange. ... 19-5-8.pdf

There you will find:

Dividend

We have delivered solid results for 2018/19 and are making positive progress against our core pillars; to improve customer experience, to create the best converged network; and to create a simplified, lean and agile business. This is being delivered in an increasingly competitive market environment with a number of regulatory and other headwinds. We remain confident in our ability to deliver the benefits we expect from the decisive actions we are taking to strengthen our competitive position.

As a result, the Board has decided to hold the dividend unchanged for 2018/19 at 15.4p per share, leading to a final dividendof 10.78p per share. The Board also expects to hold the dividend unchanged in respect of the 2019/20 financial year given our outlook for earnings and cash flow.

The Board remains committed to our dividend policy, which is to maintain or grow the dividend each year whilst taking into consideration a number of factors including underlying medium term earnings expectations and levels of business reinvestment (which would include the consideration of accelerated FTTP investment).

In line with previous guidance, our interim dividend for 2019/20 will be fixed at 30% of this year’s full year dividend.Subject to shareholder approval, the dividend will be paid on 9 September 2019 to shareholders on the register at 9 August 2019. The ex-dividend date is 8 August 2019. The election date for participation in BT’s Dividend Investment Plan in respect of this dividend is 23 August 2019.

Note the bit about the Board expects to hold the dividend unchanged for 2019-20.

TJH

[dredd0]

Correct me if I am wrong but 9.92bn shares in issue at 15.4p means the dividend costs £1.528bn. Free Cash Flow forecast 2019/20 £1.9-£2.1bn. Does this mean Dividend is covered by FCF 1.24-1.37 times?

[Dod101]

Note the bit about the Board expects to hold the dividend unchanged for 2019-20.

Yes that was in the quote by kempiejohn earlier in this thread. So BT are joining the list of those large companies holding their dividend, HSBC, Shell, the pharmas and maybe others. As I have said, the HYP universe of shares is not very big or attractive these days.

Dod

[tjh290633]

Correct me if I am wrong but 9.92bn shares in issue at 15.4p means the dividend costs £1.528bn. Free Cash Flow forecast 2019/20 £1.9-£2.1bn. Does this mean Dividend is covered by FCF 1.24-1.37 times?

From the PDF:

The final dividend, amounting to approximately £1,069m(2018/19: £1,044m), will be recognised as an appropriation of the retained earnings in the quarter to 30 September 2019.

and

Normalised free cash flow(1)£2.3bn -£2.5bn for 2018-19

So your figures are about right.

TJH

[Gengulphus]

Also in the results:

"For 2018/19 the Board has decided to hold the full year dividend unchanged at 15.4p per share. The Board also expects to hold the dividend unchanged in respect of the current financial year given our outlook for earnings and cash flow."

and after a convoluted search of the BT web site:

paid 9sept ex 8th Aug record 9th Aug
Why oh why do some companies make it so dificult to find these dates!

It's usually not very difficult, provided you know the trick.

The give-away is an abnormally short results RNS - e.g. on my desktop screen, BT's results https://www.investegate.co.uk/bt-group- ... 00074428Y/ are only about 7 screenfuls (or about 6 excluding the Investegate-inserted header and footer material). That's far too short for a final results RNS from a major company - I would normally expect many dozens of screenfuls, or even some hundreds - and what it gives away is that the RNS is highly likely to actually be a summary results RNS and contains a link to a full version of the results, probably at or near its end.

So if you see that give-away, look for the link, trying the end of the RNS first, open the document it points to and look for the dividend dates in that document. In this case, you'll find the link and quote TJH has posted with little more effort than normal - just that of looking for the link and opening it.

I think the "Why oh why ..." question I would actually ask is about the RNS being headlined "Results for the full year to 31 March 2019" and not e.g. "Summary results for the full year to 31 March 2019". And I suspect the answer I would get from the company would be that they're conforming with the guidelines about RNS headlines - i.e. that basically my question should be directed at the people who set those guidelines...

Gengulphus

[daveh]

Also in the results:

"For 2018/19 the Board has decided to hold the full year dividend unchanged at 15.4p per share. The Board also expects to hold the dividend unchanged in respect of the current financial year given our outlook for earnings and cash flow."

and after a convoluted search of the BT web site:

paid 9sept ex 8th Aug record 9th Aug
Why oh why do some companies make it so dificult to find these dates!

It's usually not very difficult, provided you know the trick.

The give-away is an abnormally short results RNS - e.g. on my desktop screen, BT's results https://www.investegate.co.uk/bt-group- ... 00074428Y/ are only about 7 screenfuls (or about 6 excluding the Investegate-inserted header and footer material). That's far too short for a final results RNS from a major company - I would normally expect many dozens of screenfuls, or even some hundreds - and what it gives away is that the RNS is highly likely to actually be a summary results RNS and contains a link to a full version of the results, probably at or near its end.

So if you see that give-away, look for the link, trying the end of the RNS first, open the document it points to and look for the dividend dates in that document. In this case, you'll find the link and quote TJH has posted with little more effort than normal - just that of looking for the link and opening it.

I think the "Why oh why ..." question I would actually ask is about the RNS being headlined "Results for the full year to 31 March 2019" and not e.g. "Summary results for the full year to 31 March 2019". And I suspect the answer I would get from the company would be that they're conforming with the guidelines about RNS headlines - i.e. that basically my question should be directed at the people who set those guidelines...

Gengulphus

Actually I went to the full link as you suggested, but couldn't do my usual trick of using find on page and searching for 'dividend' nor could I find a contents section, so I read down through it but couldn't find/didn't see the dates so then went to the BT website Investor relations pages - which is where I eventually found it.

There was also some commentary on Radio Scotland this morning and the Analyst they had on commented that the dividend was only just going to be covered by free cash flow. They said there had been some commentary prior to the results that the divi might be cut, but that it was safe for now, but it was going to be tight in the future if they could maintain it and make the required capital investments as the cash flow cover was o tight.

[88V8]

Speculation in last Saturday's Times that they may cut the divi to fund expanded activity by Openreach.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bt-i ... -8kww7b6fs

'...if the returns are attractive enough... then they should cut the dividend to invest in the long-term future of the business'
New boss, Philip Jansen. Beware of new bosses.

V8 (used to hold, but oh dear, the pension deficit)

[Gengulphus]

...
So if you see that give-away, look for the link, trying the end of the RNS first, open the document it points to and look for the dividend dates in that document. In this case, you'll find the link and quote TJH has posted with little more effort than normal - just that of looking for the link and opening it.
...

Actually I went to the full link as you suggested, but couldn't do my usual trick of using find on page and searching for 'dividend' ...

That worked fine for me - and I've just tried it again to double-check that I hadn't inadvertently done something odd, and it still works... There is the minor difference that ctrl-F brings up Acrobat Reader's find facility rather than my browser's, so that the input area for "dividend" is different from normal, but that's a standard thing that happens with a PDF link rather than an HTML one.

Anyway, the signs are that the problem is probably with your software set-up rather than with the RNS or its link to the PDF. And sorry, I won't be able to help work out what it is, beyond saying that it works for my pretty standard desktop/laptop set-up (Windows / Internet Explorer / Acrobat Reader) - I simply don't have enough experience of using anything else...

Gengulphus

[daveh]

That worked fine for me - and I've just tried it again to double-check that I hadn't inadvertently done something odd, and it still works... There is the minor difference that ctrl-F brings up Acrobat Reader's find facility rather than my browser's, so that the input area for "dividend" is different from normal, but that's a standard thing that happens with a PDF link rather than an HTML one.

Anyway, the signs are that the problem is probably with your software set-up rather than with the RNS or its link to the PDF. And sorry, I won't be able to help work out what it is, beyond saying that it works for my pretty standard desktop/laptop set-up (Windows / Internet Explorer / Acrobat Reader) - I simply don't have enough experience of using anything else...

Gengulphus

I'm afraid it was just me being stupid. I just tried doing it without having the search function already open and it worked OK. I thought it was a problem with the pdf being open in the browser rather than in Acrobat, but no it was just me being incompetant.

[johnw11]

In line with previous guidance, our interim dividend for 2019/20 will be fixed at 30% of this year’s full year dividend.Subject to shareholder approval, the dividend will be paid on 9 September 2019 to shareholders on the register at 9 August 2019. The ex-dividend date is 8 August 2019. The election date for participation in BT’s Dividend Investment Plan in respect of this dividend is 23 August 2019.[/i]

Note the bit about the Board expects to hold the dividend unchanged for 2019-20.

TJH

TJH I'm reading that as the interim dividend is fixed at 30% of this years full dividend, so no change from this year's interim, but that does not rule out an increase in the final dividend, as happened this year where the final dividend is an increase of 2.18%.

[Dod101]

'For 2018/19 the Board has decided to hold the full year dividend unchanged at 15.4p per share. The Board also expects to hold the dividend unchanged in respect of the current financial year given our outlook for earnings and cash flow."

The above is an extract from the CEO's comments in the announcement and is pretty clear , so I think that johnw11 may be disappointed. I have held BT at different times over the last 25 years or so but each time it has disappointed me for one reason or another.

Dod

[tjh290633]

In line with previous guidance, our interim dividend for 2019/20 will be fixed at 30% of this year’s full year dividend.Subject to shareholder approval, the dividend will be paid on 9 September 2019 to shareholders on the register at 9 August 2019. The ex-dividend date is 8 August 2019. The election date for participation in BT’s Dividend Investment Plan in respect of this dividend is 23 August 2019.[/i]

Note the bit about the Board expects to hold the dividend unchanged for 2019-20.

TJH

TJH I'm reading that as the interim dividend is fixed at 30% of this years full dividend, so no change from this year's interim, but that does not rule out an increase in the final dividend, as happened this year where the final dividend is an increase of 2.18%.

The split between interim and final is different this year from last, which is why there was a small increase in the final. The total for the year is unchanged, so one can expect the interim to be unchanged at 30% of the same amount.

TJH

[johnw11]

The above is an extract from the CEO's comments in the announcement and is pretty clear , so I think that johnw11 may be disappointed. I have held BT at different times over the last 25 years or so but each time it has disappointed me for one reason or another.

Dod

Note the bit about the Board expects to hold the dividend unchanged for 2019-20.

tjh290633

That will teach me, again, to not just read the highlights. Nothing about BT surprises me, having held them for nearly 13 years I am showing an XIRR rate of just over 1%.