BT cuts annual revenue forecast – what's next for the telecoms giant?

BT has trimmed its sales forecast, but the overall outlook remains positive and big investors have bought in. Should you invest?

BT offices
BT’s new management seems to be pushing the company in the right direction
(Image credit: © Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The “weak” performance of BT’s “problem child” business unit is still hampering CEO Allison Kirkby’s turnaround plan, says Jillian Deutsch on Bloomberg. BT was forced to cut its sales forecast for the year to 31 March 2025 by between 1% and 2% on 7 November. This was caused by a 6.8% adjusted revenue decline in the division serving business customers. As a result, overall second-quarter revenue fell 3% to £5.09 billion, below analysts’ expectations of £5.23 billion. BT’s shares promptly slipped by 5%.

It’s not surprising that BT’s business unit isn’t doing very well, says Hargreaves Lansdown’s Matt Britzman. Higher expenses and “a tough competitive landscape make it a tricky place to operate”. But investors can console themselves that profit and cash-flow guidance has been “left untouched”. What’s more, as the fibre rollout gathers pace, BP is not only “benefiting from higher prices and a more favourable mix of fibre versus older technology”, but also from the prospect of an end to the “massive investment” the rollout involves. Expect a major improvement” in areas such as cash flow.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

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