Consumer division powers BT as it unveils £6bn investment plans

BT's underlying turnover rose 2 per cent, driving adjusted cash profits up 5 per cent to £6.6bn. The growth engine remains the consumer business: sales rose 7 per cent there as the addition of European football coverage helped to boost its total television audience by 28 per cent to 1.5m. Management also hired 900 engineers and 900 additional call-centre staff to improve customer service. And BT Mobile amassed more than 400,000 customers in the year since its launch.

Sales and profits also rose in the embattled Openreach division, as strong demand for fibre broadband offset a top-line hit of £130m from regulatory price cuts. Ofcom continues to pressure BT to improve access to its national network, strengthen governance and raise service quality. Elsewhere, management expects the integration of EE to generate £400m in annual cost savings over the next four years, ahead of its previous expectations, at a cost of £550m.

BT's other segments put in mixed performances. The global services business inked a deal with freight and logistics giant Panalpina to connect 15,000 employees across more than 75 countries, but a North American customer's insourcing of services weighed on earnings. The business division posted higher profits as it won work with Equiniti and Pets at Home. And the wholesale division trailed the pack: flagging demand for landlines offset a £100m deal with the BBC to provide a next-generation broadcast network, sending both sales and cash profits down 3 per cent.

Broker UBS expects earnings before interest and tax of £4.39bn in the year to March 2017, giving EPS of 30.3p (from £3.84bn and 31p in FY2016).