Dear Members,
As a CWU member working for BT, you will no doubt be aware of the accounting fiasco in BT Italia reported in the press this week, alongside the challenges in BT Public Sector, which caused their share price to drop 21% and BT to announce that profits and revenues may flat-line over the next two years. This will have undoubtedly heightened concerns for you, particularly as you already await the uncertain outcome of the Ofcom Digital Review.
We wanted to wait until the third quarter results were out before we wrote to you. The results this morning, despite the Italian accounting fiasco and problems in BTP&S are still in line with market expectations; it’s important to remember that BT is still a profitable company with a strong cash flow. Although Pre-tax profits are down to £526m for this quarter; for the three quarters they are a healthy £1.9bn. Revenue has grown to £6.1bn and for the whole year is up 33%. And although cash flow has taken a dive this quarter, it remains strong at £369m. Consumer-facing businesses and acquisition of EE continue to profit and the business has achieved record fibre broadband connections.
Given BT’s strong cash position and profitability the CWU continues to argue during the BT pay talks that CWU members, on which the company’s success ultimately depends, deserve recognition for their hard work over the year. The delivery of improved customer service and the delivery of record broadband connections is testament to the real commitment our members give to make this company successful. If BT can still grow their dividend share by 10% in the coming years and continue to invest in BT sport then it can afford to invest in its people.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Kerr
Deputy General Secretary (T&FS)