BT Ireland announces 4.3% rise in annual turnover to £771m

BT IRELAND'S turnover grew by 4.3 per cent to £771 million for the year ended March 31st, compared to £739 million for the same period last year, the company said yesterday.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 21 per cent year on year, although the company declined to provide a figure.

However, the BT group as a whole announced EBITDA for the 12 months to March 31st of nearly £5.8 billion on revenues of £20.7 billion, representing a margin of 27.9 per cent.

If this were applied to Ireland, it would suggest EBITDA of €215 million.

New wave revenue, driven by broadband, networked IT services and mobility, rose by 13 per cent year on year and accounted for 30 per cent of total revenue, according to BT.

The company, which operates on both sides of the Border, saw a 23 per cent rise overall in the number of broadband subscribers in the North to more than 153,000.

In the Republic, DSL broadband connections grew by 24 per cent to close to 80,000.

BT Ireland's wholesale division now services more than 330,000 homes and business sites across Northern Ireland.

Mobility and convergence generated double-digit revenue growth, driven primarily by wireless broadband and voice and data services, it said.

Its public wireless broadband service, BT Openzone, grew by a total of 89 per cent and now totals 350 "hotspot" sites across the island.

"Strong demand for our extensive networked IT services portfolio, particularly in the area of managed services, has extended our footprint into the private and public sectors North and South," BT Ireland said.

The company also secured a number of key contracts during the year, including Airtricity, Ascon Contractors, Bank of Ireland, BDO Simpson Xavier, Ryanair and the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

It also signed wholesale contracts with a host of communications providers, including 3 and e-net.

BT Ireland also announced yesterday that it would sell mobile products and services to SMEs in the Republic following a new partnership agreement with 02 Ireland that will enable BT to bring fixed-line, mobile and IT services together for smaller business customers.