Profits at BT given a boost by broadband November 11, 2010 BT LAST night raised its full-year forecasts after bumper broadband sales boosted its profits. During the second quarter over 250,000 new broadband customers were added to its network, including rival firms renting BT lines. Virgin added 35,000 new broadband customers during the same period. BT’s new superfast broadband service “Infinity” is rising at a level [...]
Just 50,000 sign up to BT’s sports package November 11, 2010 BT yesterday announced its Sky Sports offering has limped to just 50,000 subscribers since its launch this summer. Chief executive Ian Livingston admitted the firm has a “lot more to do” but reiterated BT’s long term committment to the project. He said: “Around 10 per cent of our BT Vision subscriber base is now taking [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: JUST HOW GOOD ARE BT’S LATEST RESULTS? November 11, 2010 WILL DRAPER | EXECUTION NOBLE Although this is a brighter set of results from BT, with figures ahead on most measures and full-year guidance raised, much of the increased guidance had been anticipated. The interim dividend of 2.4p was the one area of disappointment, four per cent lower than our estimate. SIMON WEEDEN | CITI [...]
CITY PAYS ITS DEEPEST RESPECTS TO BRITAIN’S FALLEN WAR HEROES November 11, 2010 SILENCE blanketed the City of London yesterday at 11am, to mark the anniversary of Armistice Day, the end of the First World War. The largest remembrance ceremony took place at Lloyd’s of London, where 5,000 members of the insurance market gathered on the trading floor to watch on as their chairman Lord Levene and Lord [...]
BT raises forecast after broadband boost November 11, 2010 BT has raised its full-year core earnings outlook after posting better-than-expected second quarter results boosted by demand for broadband and its Global Services unit. It now expects to post full-year adjusted core earnings of around £5.8bn, compared with a previous pledge to perform in line with the year before which achieved earnings of £5.6bn. Britain’s [...]
BT wins hearing in fight against DEA November 10, 2010 THE Digital Economy Act was hanging in the balance last night after a judge granted a full hearing into claims the legislation was rushed through and could contravene EU rules. BT and TalkTalk have mounted a legal battle against the act, which they claim was not properly discussed before being passed during “wash-up” – the [...]
YouView presses ahead with plans for 2011 launch November 10, 2010 BBC-backed online TV service YouView stepped up preparations for its launch next year by officially approaching content providers who want to join the venture. YouView, which will support video and audio streaming as well as web-based apps, is discussing the technical implications of uploading content from disparate providers to a single platform. Richard Halton, chief [...]
Battle for £120m Bluewater stake November 7, 2010 A BATTLE for a £120m stake in the Bluewater shopping centre is in the offing, with some of the world’s largest pensions and sovereign wealth funds competing to invest. The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP), and Oxford Properties, property arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System [...]
BT pension deficit slashed by £3bn by new inflation measure November 5, 2010 BT’S mammoth pension deficit will fall by £2.9bn thanks to a change that will link pension payments to the Consumer Prices Index inflation meaure instead of the Retail Prices Index. The fall in deficit, which stood at £9bn in 2009, will immediately have an impact on interest payments made by the telecoms giant. It will [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 4, 2010 BT UBS rates the telecoms group a “sell” with a 12-month target price of 120p. The broker forecasts a four per cent fall in revenue when BT announces its quarterly results next Thursday, and believes the company’s huge pension deficit will remain the primary focus. It also predicts that the firm will have made moderate [...]