BT hails Q3 revenue growth

But profit takes a nosedive due to poor performance of Global Services arm

Telecoms giant BT posted a five per cent turnover growth in its third quarter financials ended 31 December 2008.

Turnover for the quarter stood at 5.4bn, compared to 5.1bn in the same quarter a year ago.

However earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) took a tumble, hitting £1bn for the quarter compared to £1.4bn in 2007. This was blamed on a poor performance of BT Global services and one-off charges.

Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT, said: “Three of our businesses performed ahead of expectations in the quarter and the group, excluding Global Services, delivered the best year on year profit growth for five years. However, as previously announced, the group results have been severely impacted by the performance of our Global Services division.

"We need to build a solid base in Global Services from which we can deliver positive cash flows. We have already announced changes in management and are making significant financial and operational changes to the business. We are also trying to change the division's cash flow profile to ensure it’s less concentrated towards the fourth quarter and, as a result, fourth quarter cash inflow in Global Services will be significantly lower than last year's exceptionally high figure.

"With our focus on improving the performance of Global Services, continued cost savings and control on capex across the group, we expect group free cash flow, before any pension deficit payments, to be over £1bn next year,” he added.