Financial highlights for the quarter:
Reported revenue up 35%, and growth in underlying revenue1 excluding transit adjusted for the acquisition of EE up 1.1%
Reported earnings per share down 10%, adjusted2 earnings per share up 4%
Underlying EBITDA1 adjusted for the acquisition of EE up 0.9%
Non-cash specific item charge of £145m following initial investigation into inappropriate management behaviour in BT Italia
Net cash inflow from operating activities of £1,734m, up £489m and normalised free cash flow3 of £894m, up £325m reflects timing of receipts and payments within the year; net debt £9,573m
Interim dividend 4.85p, up 10%
Outlook unchanged
Operational highlights for the quarter:
Mobile pay monthly net additions of 280,000, with sustained low churn
65% retail share of total broadband net additions at 76,000, with retail fibre broadband net additions at 216,000
Openreach achieved 440,000 fibre broadband net additions, including >50% from external service providers for first time
Over 1,000 new UK-based customer service roles in Consumer in the second half to answer 90% of calls in the UK
Good progress clearing long tail of outstanding Ethernet orders in Openreach
Openreach ahead on all 60 minimum service levels and on track to halve missed appointments this year
Gavin Patterson, Chief Executive, commenting on the results, said:
"This is a positive set of results, both operationally and financially, and we remain on track to achieve our full year outlook. We've made good progress on the integration of EE and the delivery of our synergy targets. Our consumer facing lines of business have performed well, but in the enterprise space, UK public sector continues to be a challenging market. Across the group, we continue to drive cost reduction and productivity improvements. Customer experience remains a key priority, and we're stepping up our investments in the second half of the year. And we'll continue to invest in our ultrafast and 4G plans in 2017 and beyond. Ofcom's consultation on the Digital Communications Review closed earlier this month; we've submitted our response and will continue to engage with Ofcom to reach the best outcome for the UK."
