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LONDON: British telecoms operator BT Group said on Thursday that annual net profit sank by 39 percent, hit by restructuring costs and the lack of an exceptional tax gain made the previous fiscal year.
BT Group said in an earnings statement that profit after tax dropped to 1.737 billion pounds (2.2 billion euros, 3.4 billion dollars) in the 12 months to March 31, compared with the figure for 2006/07.
The company reported a two-percent rise in fourth-quarter sales as revenue from its popular Internet broadband services offset a declining trend in BT's traditional fixed-line operations.
The telecoms giant said fourth-quarter revenues rose to 5.422 billion pounds, ahead of analysts' consensus forecast of 5.302 billion pounds.
"We have finished the year in style with a strong fourth quarter performance," BT chief executive Ben Verwaayen said in the earnings statement.
BT Group had announced in April that Verwaayen, credited with turning the company round, would step down at the end of May to be replaced by retail division head Ian Livingston.
Verwaayen has helped to transform former monopoly BT into a leading global provider of telecommunication services during his six and a half years at the helm.
Amid fierce competition and dwindling demand for its traditional fixed-line telephone service, the British group has moved quickly into the Internet and television markets, offering high-speed broadband and programme downloads.
- AFP/so
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