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/