British telecoms group Cable & Wireless (C&W) reported a 2 per cent drop in first-quarter revenues today and said stricter cash controls helped cut its capital expenditure in half.
In its first quarterly revenue and cash statement, C&W posted revenue of £974 million sterling for the quarter ended in June, down 2 per cent on the previous quarter assuming constant exchange rates.
First-quarter capital expenditure was just £100 million, down from £228 million the quarter before. Prospects for spending cuts over the full year helped push C&W shares more than 2 per cent higher to 114-1/2 pence in early trade.
C&W said a flat revenue performance in Britain was better than expected, though it was offset by a slump in the Caribbean.
The new management team announced a restructuring in early June that will see C&W sell or shut operations in continental Europe and the United States and focus on Britain, Japan and its healthier regional operations around the world.
The company plunged to a record £6.5 billion annual loss for the year to March 31st.
Separately, C&W said it had signed a deal with utility Centrica to carry call traffic generated by its telecoms units One.Tel and British Gas Communications. The contract is worth at least £15 million over three years.