06
November
2025
|
07:00
Europe/London
Results for the half year to 30 September 2025
A better BT for all of us
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Allison Kirkby, Chief Executive, commenting on the results, said:

"BT is delivering on its strategy in competitive markets. We're building the UK's digital backbone, connecting the country like no one else and accelerating our transformation. Openreach full fibre broadband now reaches more than 20 million homes and businesses and our award-winning EE network is live with 5G+ coverage for 66% of the population. Since the start of the year, we've driven customer growth across Consumer broadband, mobile and TV and we're stabilising our UK-focused Business division. Outside the UK, we've completed strategic exits and we're reshaping our International unit. BT's transformation is delivering ahead of plan, as our UK focus and radical simplification and modernisation are helping to offset declines from our International and legacy businesses and higher labour-related costs since the start of this tax year.

"We remain on track to deliver our financial outlook for this year, our cash flow inflection to c.£2.0bn in FY27 and c.£3.0bn by the end of the decade, and we're announcing an increased interim dividend to 2.45 pence per share."

Delivering on our strategy in competitive markets

  • Record FTTP build of over 2.2m in the 6 month period; FTTP footprint reached 20.3m premises, of which 5.5m in rural locations; on track to build up to 5m this fiscal year and reach our target of 25m by December 2026
  • Record demand for Openreach FTTP with 1.1m net adds in H1; total premises connected grew to over 7.6m, again increasing our market-leading take-up rate, now 38%; Openreach broadband ARPU grew 4% year-on-year in H1 to £16.7, driven by CPI-linked price increases, higher FTTP take-up and speed mix
  • Openreach broadband lines fell 242k in Q2, driven by losses to competitors and a weaker broadband market; our expectation for FY26 remains unchanged at twice the H2 FY25 run rate
  • UK's best mobile network for a record-breaking twelfth consecutive year as awarded by RootMetrics, delivering the UK's best 5G experience; '5G+' standalone coverage up over 20ppts to 66% of the population and on track to deliver to 99% of the UK population by the end of FY30
  • Landmark agreementwith Starlink announced, increasing broadband choice in hard to reach areas
  • Record retail FTTP base growth in H1 with Consumer up 476k to 3.7m and Business up 44k to 0.3m; 5G base reached 13.9m, up 11% year-on-year
  • Consumer customer bases grew for a third consecutive quarter in broadband and a second consecutive quarter in postpaid mobile, with growth also in TV; year-on-year Consumer broadband ARPU down 1.4% to £41.9 and Consumer postpaid mobile ARPU down 1.6% to £19.3 year-on-year; we continue to expect a return to year-on-year service revenue growth in H2; Consumer fixed and mobile convergence increased to 25.9% from 23.1% this time last year
  • Business unit now fully UK-focused, with a stabilising performance
  • Transformation delivering ahead of plan with £247m gross annualised cost savings during H1 FY26 and a cumulative total of £1.2bn realised in the first 18 months of our £3bn programme; year-on-year energy usage in our networks was down 5%, total labour resource was down 6% to 111k and Openreach repair volumes were down 13%; plans advanced to reshape International
  • BT Group NPS improved to 30.5, up 5.2pts year-on-year, demonstrating further improving customer experience

Financial performance on track; full year guidance reconfirmed

  • Reported and adjusted1 revenue £9.8bn, down 3%, due to declines in legacy voice, lower mobile handset trading volumes and declines in International, offset by an improving FTTP mix in Openreach
  • Adjusted UK service revenue1 £7.7bn, down 1%, due to declines in legacy voice and a competitive retail pricing environment, offset by an improving FTTP mix and price increases
  • Adjusted1 EBITDA £4.1bn, flat year-on-year, with strong cost transformation and cost control offsetting revenue flow through and higher National Insurance and National Living Wage costs
  • Reported profit before tax £862m, down 11%, primarily driven by higher depreciation and amortisation from a higher asset base, and net finance expense driven by increased interest rates, offset by lower specific costs
  • Capital expenditure1 ('capex') £2.4bn, up 8%, reflecting increased FTTP provisioning and build activity
  • Net cash inflow from operating activities £2.8bn; normalised free cash flow1 £0.4bn, down £0.3bn due to higher cash capex, the absence of a prior year tax refund and lower net cash flows from working capital programmes
  • Net debt £20.9bn (31 March 2025: £19.8bn), increasing mainly due to scheduled pension contributions of £0.8bn and the payment of the full year dividend partially offset by cash from trading activities
  • Gross IAS 19 pension deficit of £3.9bn, a decrease from £4.1bn at 31 March 2025, mainly due to scheduled contributions offset by a decrease in credit spreads
  • Interim dividend of 2.45 pence per share (pps) up 2% from 2.40pps in H1 FY25 in line with our policy of paying 30% of prior year's full year dividend pps
  • FY26 Outlook reconfirmed: Adjusted1 group revenue c£20bn, adjusted UK service revenue1 of £15.3-£15.6bn and EBITDA of £8.2-£8.3bn; capital expenditure1 excluding spectrum c. £5.0bn; normalised free cash flow1 c. £1.5bn
  • Mid-term guidance reconfirmed: Adjusted1 group revenue and adjusted UK service revenue1 sustained growth from FY27 and EBITDA growth ahead of revenue, enhanced by cost transformation; capital expenditure1 excluding spectrum reducing by more than £1bn from FY26 level; normalised free cash flow1 of c. £2.0bn in FY27 and c. £3.0bn by the end of the decade

Customer-facing unit updates

1 See Glossary.
2 H1 and Q2 FY25 comparative information for the Business CFU has been re-presented to reflect the formation of the new International CFU and re-presentations of segmental revenue to reflect the nature of services and trading relationships between CFUs. Note 17 in the release presents a bridge between financial information for the half year to 30 September 2024 as published on 7 November 2024, and the comparatives presented in this release.
3 Net debt was £19,816 at 31 March 2025.
4 Includes spectrum investment of £1m.
n/m: comparison not meaningful

Glossary
Adjusted Adjusted measures (including adjusted revenue, adjusted operating costs, adjusted operating profit, and adjusted basic earnings per share) are before specific items. Adjusted results are consistent with the way that financial performance is measured by management and assist in providing an additional analysis of the reporting trading results of the group.
Adjusted EBITDA Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, before specific items, share of post tax profits/losses of associates and joint ventures and net finance expense.
Free cash flow Net cash inflow from operating activities after net capital expenditure.
Capital expenditure Additions to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets in the period.
Normalised free cash flow Free cash flow (net cash inflow from operating activities after net capital expenditure) after net interest paid, payment of lease liabilities, net cash flows from the sale of cash flows related to contract assets, monies received as prepayment for the sale of redundant copper, dividends received from non-current assets investments, associates and joint ventures, and net purchase or disposal of non-current asset investments, before pension deficit payments (including their cash tax benefit), payments relating to spectrum, and specific items. It excludes cash flows that are determined at a corporate level independently of ongoing trading operations such as dividends paid, share buybacks, acquisitions and disposals, repayment and raising of debt, cash flows relating to loans with joint ventures, and cash flows relating to the Building Digital UK demand deposit account which have already been accounted for within normalised free cash flow. For non-tax related items the adjustments are made on a pre-tax basis.
Net debt Loans and other borrowings and lease liabilities (both current and non-current), less current asset investments and cash and cash equivalents, including items which have been classified as held for sale on the balance sheet. Amounts due to joint ventures, loans and borrowings recognised in relation to monies received from the sale of cash flows of contract assets and as prepayment for the forward sale of redundant copper are excluded. Currency denominated balances within net debt are translated into sterling at swapped rates where hedged. Fair value adjustments and accrued interest applied to reflect the effective interest method are removed.
Adjusted UK service revenue Adjusted UK service revenue comprises all UK revenue less UK equipment revenue. Some revenue from equipment is included within adjusted UK service revenue where this is sold as part of a managed services contract or where that equipment cannot be practicably separated from the underlying service. UK revenue excludes International revenue.
Re-presented

We have re-presented certain H1 FY25 comparatives to reflect changes in the Group's internal reporting structure. The International CFU was separated from Business forming a new CFU, effective from 1 July 2025.

In addition, two re-presentations have been made to segmental revenue reporting, consistent with the information now provided to the Executive Committee, which is the key management committee and represents the 'chief operating decision maker' (CODM):

  • Certain Openreach pass-through services previously reported as external revenue in Business have been reclassified to Openreach to reflect the customer relationship. As a result of this change the prior year comparatives have been re-presented to present revenue on a consistent basis resulting in a £46m reduction in Business segment revenue for the half year to 30 September 2024, with no impact on Openreach segmental revenue due to the intra-group nature of the transaction.
  • Following an update to the commercial terms governing a trading relationship between EE and BT Wholesale, BT Wholesale will now recognise services provided to EE as part of this trading relationship as intersegment revenue. Previously, these services were internally reported as cost recovery. This change results in the recognition of revenue within the Business segment. As a result of this change the prior year comparatives have been re-presented to present revenue and cost for the segment on a consistent basis. The effect of this change is to increase Business revenue by £42m, with a corresponding increase in cost.
Specific items Items that in management's judgement need to be disclosed separately by virtue of their size, nature or incidence. In the current period these relate to our assessment of our provision for historic regulatory matters, impairment loss on remeasurement of held for sale items, increase in litigation provisions, restructuring charges, divestment-related items, Sports JV-related items and net interest expense on pensions. In determining whether an event or transaction is specific, management considers quantitative as well as qualitative factors such as the frequency or predictability of occurrence.

We assess the performance of the group using a variety of alternative performance measures. Reconciliations from the most directly comparable IFRS measures are in Additional Information on pages 34 to 36 of the release.

Forward-looking statements - caution advised

Certain information included in this announcement is forward looking and involves risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Forward looking statements cover all matters which are not historical facts and include, without limitation, projections relating to results of operations and financial conditions and the Company's plans and objectives for future operations. Forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including terms such as 'believes', 'estimates', 'anticipates', 'expects', 'forecasts', 'intends', 'plans', 'projects', 'goal', 'target', 'aim', 'may', 'will', 'would', 'could' or 'should' or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. Forward looking statements in this announcement are not guarantees of future performance. All forward looking statements in this announcement are based upon information known to the Company on the date of this announcement. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements, which speak only at their respective dates. Additionally, forward looking statements regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations (including under the UK Listing Rules and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority), the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Nothing in this announcement shall exclude any liability under applicable laws that cannot be excluded in accordance with such laws.

Download PDF - Results for the half year to 30 September 2025

About BT Group

BT Group is the UK's leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services.

BT Group consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer serves individuals and families in the UK; Business covers companies and public services in the UK; International serves multinational organisations headquartered outside the UK and overseas public sector customers; Openreach is an independently governed, wholly owned subsidiary wholesaling fixed access infrastructure services to its customers - over 700 communications providers across the UK.

British Telecommunications plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

For more information, visit https://www.bt.com/about

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BT Group plc published this content on November 06, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on November 06, 2025 at 07:05 UTC.