REG - BT Group PLC - Trading update for nine months to 31 December 2025
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RNS Number : 7804R BT Group PLC 05 February 2026
BT is delivering, with record full fibre connections and further retail
customer growth
Trading update for the quarter and nine months to 31 December 2025
BT Group plc - 5 February 2026
Allison Kirkby, Chief Executive, commenting on the results, said:
"BT continues to deliver on its strategy - building and connecting the UK to
the best next-generation networks at record pace, while accelerating our
transformation. Our network leadership strengthened further in the quarter,
with full fibre broadband now reaching more than 21 million homes and
businesses, and our 5G+ network accessible to 69% of the population. Openreach
achieved record full fibre connections and our Consumer division again added
customers in broadband, mobile and TV, as we make the most of all our
brilliant brands - EE, BT and Plusnet.
"Customer satisfaction reached an all-time high this quarter, and with our
transformation building momentum, we are delivering ahead of plan. We remain
on track for our financial outlook and guidance metrics for this year, our
cash flow inflection to c.£2.0bn next year, and to c.£3.0bn by the end of
the decade."
Delivering on our strategy:
• More than 1m premises passed with FTTP for an eighth consecutive
quarter, continuing the fastest build any company has achieved in Europe; FTTP
footprint at 21.4m premises, of which 5.9m in rural locations; on track to
achieve up to 5m this fiscal year and reach 25m by December 2026
• Record customer demand for Openreach FTTP with net adds of 571k, up
21% year-on-year; total premises connected 8.2m, increasing our market-leading
take up rate to over 38%; Openreach broadband ARPU grew 4% to £16.8, driven
by higher FTTP take-up, speed mix and price increases
• Openreach broadband lines fell 210k, down quarter-on-quarter and at a
similar rate to last year; we now expect full year losses at c.850k for the
year, better than our previous estimate
• Retail FTTP base grew 32% year-on-year to 4.2m, of which Consumer 3.9m
and Business 0.3m
• UK's best mobile network for a record 11th consecutive year as awarded
by Umlaut Connect, extending EE's lead over the second placed network;
Opensignal placed EE first in 11 of 15 categories in its January report and
yesterday RootMetrics named EE the UK's best network for the 25th time; 5G
base reached 14.3m, up 10% year-on-year; 5G+ coverage at 69%
• All Consumer customer bases grew for a fourth consecutive quarter in
broadband, up 8k, a third consecutive quarter in postpaid mobile, up 55k, and
a sixth consecutive quarter in TV, up 22k
• Consumer service revenue was flat year-on-year and remains on track
for growth in H2; Consumer broadband ARPU was down 1% year-on-year to £41.8
and postpaid mobile ARPU was down 1% to £19.2; Consumer fixed and mobile
convergence grew to 26.2% from 25.9% last quarter
• Business continues to make progress on its transformation; Q3
year-on-year performance was impacted by contract milestones, mainly in the
financial and public sectors and wholesale, as well as the phasing of costs
across quarters
• All five targeted disposals in International are now complete with the
last, BT Radianz, closing on 1 February; disposals reduced International
revenue in the quarter by £45m
• Cost transformation delivered efficiencies across all units,
offsetting higher employer costs of National Living Wage and National
Insurance; the year to date energy usage in our networks was down 6%, total
labour resource was down 7% to 108k and Openreach repair volumes were down 18%
• Record BT Group NPS of 31.4, up 2.1pts year-on-year, demonstrating
further improving customer experience
On track to achieve full year guidance:
• Q3 reported and adjusted revenue(1) £5.0bn, down 4% year-on-year due
to service revenue declines, lower equipment revenue, primarily handset
trading, in Consumer and Business and the impact of divestments; Q3 adjusted
UK service revenue(1) £3.8bn, down 2%, due to the ongoing drag from legacy
voice of over one percentage point as well as the phasing of trading in the
prior year
• Q3 adjusted EBITDA(1) £2.1bn, down 1% and broadly flat excluding the
impact of prior year one-off other operating income, with lower revenue offset
by continued strong cost transformation
• Q3 reported profit before tax of £183m, down £244m, driven by a
£214m share of losses from the Sports JV
• We remain on track for our financial outlook and guidance metrics,
including our cash flow inflection to c.£2.0bn next year, and to
c.£3.0bn by the end of the decade
( )
(1) See Glossary on Page 2
Adjusted revenue(1) Adjusted UK service revenue(1) Adjusted EBITDA(1)
Third quarter to 31 December 2025 2024 Change 2025 2024 Change 2025 2024 Change
re-presented(2) re-presented(2) re-presented(2)
£m £m % £m £m % £m £m %
Consumer 2,468 2,498 (1) 1,963 1,971 - 650 655 (1)
Business(2) 1,297 1,377 (6) 1,179 1,230 (4) 317 355 (11)
International(2) 522 607 (14) - - - 50 54 (7)
Openreach 1,540 1,533 - 1,540 1,533 - 1,052 1,028 2
Other 4 5 n/m 4 5 n/m 9 11 n/m
Intra-group items(2) (855) (837) 2 (851) (834) 2 - - -
Total 4,976 5,183 (4) 3,835 3,905 (2) 2,078 2,103 (1)
Adjusted revenue(1) Adjusted UK service revenue(1) Adjusted EBITDA(1)
Nine months to 31 December 2025 2024 Change 2025 2024 Change 2025 2024 Change
re-presented(2) re-presented(2) re-presented(2)
£m £m % £m £m % £m £m %
Consumer 7,152 7,334 (2) 5,895 5,960 (1) 1,924 1,985 (3)
Business(2) 3,886 4,021 (3) 3,549 3,628 (2) 964 1,011 (5)
International(2) 1,632 1,827 (11) - - - 116 145 (20)
Openreach 4,671 4,651 - 4,671 4,651 - 3,200 3,087 4
Other 10 10 n/m 10 n/m - 7 n/m
Intra-group items(2) (2,569) (2,522) 2 (2,563) (2,517) 2 - - -
Total 14,782 15,321 (4) 11,561 11,732 (1) 6,204 6,235 -
(1) See Glossary below
(2 ) Q3 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. For further information see the glossary
below or bt.com/about (file:///C%3A/Users/apaiva/Downloads/www.bt.com/about)
for a separation publication covering the formation of International
n/m: comparison not meaningful
Glossary
ARPU Average Revenue Per User
FTTP Fibre To The Premises
NPS Net Promoter Score
Our commentary focuses on the trading results on an adjusted basis. This is
consistent with the way that financial performance is measured by management
and reported to the Board and the Executive Committee and assists in providing
a meaningful analysis of the trading results of the group. Reported revenue
and reported profit before tax are the equivalent unadjusted or statutory
measures and are reconciled in pages 228 to 230 of the Annual Report 2025.
Adjusted revenue Adjusted revenue is 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 UK service Adjusted UK service revenue comprises all UK revenue less UK equipment
revenue. Some revenue from equipment is included within adjusted UK service
revenue 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.
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.
Re-presented We have re-presented certain Q3 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 £69m reduction in Business segment revenue for the nine
months to 31 December 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 year-to-date
by £63m, 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 quarter these relate to our
assessment of our provision for historic regulatory matters, 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.
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 communication 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 www.bt.com/about
Registered in England and Wales no. 4190816
Enquiries
Press office: Jackie Bates Email: media@bt.com Tel: 07496 691 845
Investor relations: Nick Delfas Email: ir@bt.com Tel: 07377 120 540
We are scheduled to announce the fourth quarter and full year results for FY26
on 21 May 2026.
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.
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