A slimmer BT has reported third-quarter earnings that beat forecasts.
Pre-tax profit before exceptionals and goodwill amortisation was £381 million sterling in the three months to the end of December, compared with a consensus of £330 million on analyst estimates between £240 million and £380 million.
Shares in the dominant fixed-line telecoms company, hit by the sector's weakness in the past few days, climbed over 5 per cent to 238-1/2p in early London trade today.
BT has changed drastically in the past year. To cut its huge debt pile, the company sold off assets, set a record with a huge share issue and scrapped US joint venture Concert.
BT says it plans to cut wholesale broadband costs because consumers have been slow to take up high-speed lines at current prices.
Exceptionals included a £900 million profit from property sales, a loss of £165 million from the sale of Clear Communications and other investments, a £58 million charge for shutting Concert and a goodwill impairment charge of £58 million on its investment in Italian mobile phone firm Blu.