Latest news with #AllisonKirkby
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
1 year ago I said I'd left it too late to buy BT shares – see how much growth I've missed!
BT (LSE: BT) shares were top of my watchlist a year ago, and I came close to buying. I thought they looked cheap, with a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 6.75 and a forecast yield of 7.36%. That's exactly the profile of the FTSE 100 stocks I've been buying, but I hesitated. The shares had just jumped 20%, and I convinced myself the moment had passed. It felt like the early stage of a recovery, which is typically the most lucrative part, and I didn't want to chase it. I noted the long-term underperformance, the costly pension liabilities and BT's £20bn debt pile. UBS had even warned that the dividend could be cut in half. So I stepped back, again. Shortly after, full-year 2023 results landed. I expected a sell-off after a 31% fall in profits, but the market had other ideas. The shares climbed another 10% in a day. Chief executive Allison Kirkby hiked the dividend 3.9% and talked up plans to double free cash flow to £3bn by 2030. Annoyed at missing that jump, I moved on. That turned out to be the wrong call. A quick glance at the BT share price one year on hurts like hell. It's up almmost 40%, comfortably beating the FTSE 100, which climbed a modest 6.2% over the same period. The trailing yield is 4.55%, well above the index average of 3.6%. Results for the year to 31 March 2024 were mixed. Revenues dipped 2% to £20.4bn, held back by weaker international and handset sales, although Openreach and broadband price rises helped. Adjusted EBITDA rose 1% to £8.2bn, while pre-tax profit increased 12% to £1.3bn, thanks to fewer one-off costs. Normalised free cash flow beat forecasts at £1.6bn, and the dividend was increased again, this time by 2% to 8.16p per share. Net debt is down to £15.2bn. There's momentum here, and the company is now just a year away from hitting its £2bn free cash flow goal for 2027. But telecoms is a tough business. Investment costs are sky-high and competition intense. BT still carries major risks – it's still got those hefty pension commitments. Its Openreach network bleeds customers amid stiff competition from smaller, nimbler 'alt-net' rivals, with a thumping annual decline of 828,000. That's expected to continue. BT also faces tougher competition in the mobile market as Vodafone and Three line up a £15bn mega-merger. After a strong run for its shares, broker forecasts suggest slower growth ahead. The median 12-month price target sits just under 197p, around 10% above today's 179p. Add in the yield, and that could deliver a total return of 15%. Yet analyst sentiment is split. Seven rate the stock a Buy, but four say Hold and four say Sell. BT shares now trade on a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25. Not quite the screaming bargain they were, but still decent value. A year ago, I said I'd left it too late. That was a bad call. Now I feel that I've really missed out and won't be buying. Instead, I'll start looking for the next FTSE 100 recovery play. Let's hope I'm not kicking myself this time next year, too. The post 1 year ago I said I'd left it too late to buy BT shares – see how much growth I've missed! appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Harvey Jones has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BT ups dividend as firm refocuses on the UK
BT has upped its dividend to shareholders as the telecoms giant reported a rise in profits. The FTSE 100 company has declared a final dividend of 5.76p per share, bringing its full-year dividend to 8.16p, an increase of two per cent on the previous year. The firm's policy is to at least maintain or increase its dividend every year. The company posted pre-tax profits of £1.3bn in the year to end March, a jump of 12 per cent, which CEO Allison Kirkby attributed to 'strong cost control and a step-up in focus and transformation' after delivering £900m in annualised cost savings. Revenues for the year slipped two per cent to £20.4bn, which Kirkby put down to 'lower international sales and handsets.' The period saw BT refocus its operations on its home market after selling off assets in other parts of Europe. In April, the company agreed its Italian fibre networks and data centres to Retelit in an expected enterprise value of £136m-£157m). The firm has also sold its data centre business in Ireland for £49m, and has sold its Irish fibre business to Speed Fibre Group for £18m. Despite pocketing cash from the disposals, BT's net debt continued to rise. It was up by £300m to just under £20bn by the end of the period, which the company put down to its increased pension scheme contributions. The company continues to make further cost savings, adding it had completed 30 per cent of its goal to deliver a £3bn cost reduction programme by 2029. That included bringing labour costs down by three per cent and is likely to entail further job cuts in the coming years. BT has forecast next year's revenues and earnings to be largely flat compared to this year amid heightened competition. The telecoms firm is bracing to lose its crown as Britain's biggest operator, following the bumper £15bn merger between Vodafone and Three, which is set to conclude later this year. Kirby told reporters the firm hoped to compete with the new merged entity by marketing all of the company's different brands: BT, EE and Plusnet. 'What has helped stabilise our customer base in the final quarter is the activation of all of our three consumer brands,' she said. 'We recognise we've got three uniquely well-placed brands. We activated all three of those brands during Q4 and that's what we intend to do going forward.' The company insisted it would see 'sustained growth' from 2027. BT shares fell 4.4% to 162p in early London trade. Sign in to access your portfolio
Powys County Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
BT sees earnings holding firm amid mammoth cost-cutting drive
Telecoms giant BT has said it expects earnings to remain largely flat over the year ahead as it presses ahead with a major cost-cutting overhaul and plans to refocus on its UK business. The group reported underlying earnings up 1% to £8.21 billion in the year to March 31, as cost savings helped offset a 2% fall in revenues. BT said it ended its financial year with 3% fewer staff, at 116,000 in total including contractors, while its directly employed workforce was slashed by 8%. The firm has previously announced plans to cut up to 55,000 jobs worldwide by 2030 as it looks to shave billions of pounds off its cost base. It said it was on track to deliver on the plans, with more than £900 million of annual cost savings delivered so far. As revenues remain under pressure, the group is forecasting little change to underlying earnings over the new financial year, with guidance for between £8.2 billion and £8.3 billion. Underlying revenues will remain at around £20 billion, having delivered £20.4 billion in 2024-25. But the group said UK service revenues returned to growth in the second half of its last financial year, up 1% in the final quarter, limiting the overall annual decline to 0.4%. Its networks division, called Openreach, was the only part of the business that saw both revenue and earnings growth over the year as it continued to roll out fibre across Britain. The firm said it saw growth in its consumer broadband customer base during the final quarter for the first time since December 2021. Chief executive Allison Kirkby said: 'The momentum in, and impact of, our full fibre programme is such that we are now raising our build target by 20% to up to five million UK premises in 2025-26, keeping us comfortably on track to reach 25 million by the end of 2026.' Ms Kirkby is leading a revamp of the company after taking on the top job last year and is considering selling off or breaking up its international arm, which the group has carved out from the rest of the business as it looks to refocus on its UK operations. BT has been gradually reducing its overseas business as part of wider cost-cutting plans, recently selling off its troubled Italian business and previously agreeing the sale of its Irish wholesale and enterprise business unit. Ms Kirkby said the group had 'accelerated the pace of simplification and transformation' over the past year.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
BT denies exit of human resources chief is due to firm dumping diversity targets from bosses' bonuses
BT has parted company with its human resources chief in the wake of dropping the diversity targets in its manager bonus scheme. Athalie Williams, BT's chief people and culture officer, will leave the company after two and a half years in the role for personal reasons. The HR boss is understood to be going back to retire in her native Australia and spend more time with her family. She is set to be placed by Alison Wilcox, who previously served as BT's group HR director before taking up non-executive positions in the NHS. Last month, the company dropped the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measure in its manager bonus scheme but BT insists this is not connected to Ms William's departure. The DEI measure accounted for 10pc of the bonus incentive before it was replaced it with a measure of employee engagement, the Telegraph reports. Despite BT saying the change was made with 'strong support' from shareholders, it came in direct contrast to comments from BT's chief executive Allison Kirkby. Following Donald Trump's re-election, she criticised other companies for watering down their DEI targets. In a memo to staff earlier this year, she wrote: 'I believe we need to be as diverse as the customers we service, to be the customer-centric company we aspire to be and to be able to live up to our purpose. 'When we determine to be inclusive, we create an environment where everyone, no matter their background or characteristics, feels respected, valued and like they belong.' The chief executive is understood to have been attempting to shake up the telecoms giant following her appointment last year and has made a number of senior leadership changes. It is believed Ms Kirby is focusing on core mobile and broadband offerings including halting plans to dump BT as the company's flagship brand and develop the group's international operations ahead of a potential sale. The company is reportedly near to finalising a deal to sell its 50pc stake in TNT Sports, formerly known as BT Sport, to joint venture partner Warner Bros Discovery. Reports also suggest that Ms Kirkby is going forward with plans to cut tens of thousands of jobs by the end of 2029. The firm has previously announced plans to cut up to 55,000 jobs worldwide by 2030 as it looks to shave billions of pounds off its cost base. It said it was on track to deliver on the plans, with more than £900 million of annual cost savings delivered so far. A BT spokesman said: 'Athalie Williams, chief people and culture officer, has decided to return to her family in Australia and retire from executive life to pursue a portfolio career. 'She will continue to support on her handover to Alison Wilcox, who will return to BT to take on this role from June 1. 'We remain committed to our inclusion and representation aspirations to better reflect the customers and communities we serve, and we are making good progress towards them. 'We have received strong support from our shareholders on the proposals to amend our group scorecard. 'BT Group works with external advisors to support strategic programmes, and following a competitive procurement process engaged JMW Consultants to deliver projects focused on enhancing leadership performance. 'These projects took place over the course of 2024, and concluded at the end of year.' The group has said it expects earnings to remain largely flat over the year ahead as it presses ahead with a major cost-cutting overhaul and plans to refocus on its UK business. The group reported underlying earnings up 1% to £8.21 billion in the year to March 31, as cost savings helped offset a 2% fall in revenues. BT said it ended its financial year with 3% fewer staff, at 116,000 in total including contractors, while its directly employed workforce was slashed by 8%. As revenues remain under pressure, the group is forecasting little change to underlying earnings over the new financial year, with guidance for between £8.2 billion and £8.3 billion. Underlying revenues will remain at around £20 billion, having delivered £20.4 billion in 2024-25. But the group said UK service revenues returned to growth in the second half of its last financial year, up 1% in the final quarter, limiting the overall annual decline to 0.4%. Its networks division, called Openreach, was the only part of the business that saw both revenue and earnings growth over the year as it continued to roll out fibre across Britain. The firm said it saw growth in its consumer broadband customer base during the final quarter for the first time since December 2021. Ms Kirkby said: 'The momentum in, and impact of, our full fibre programme is such that we are now raising our build target by 20% to up to five million UK premises in 2025-26, keeping us comfortably on track to reach 25 million by the end of 2026.' Ms Kirkby is leading a revamp of the company after taking on the top job last year and is considering selling off or breaking up its international arm, which the group has carved out from the rest of the business as it looks to refocus on its UK operations. BT has been gradually reducing its overseas business as part of wider cost-cutting plans, recently selling off its troubled Italian business and previously agreeing the sale of its Irish wholesale and enterprise business unit. Ms Kirkby said the group had 'accelerated the pace of simplification and transformation' over the past year.
Leader Live
22-05-2025
- Business
- Leader Live
BT sees earnings holding firm amid mammoth cost-cutting drive
The group reported underlying earnings up 1% to £8.21 billion in the year to March 31, as cost savings helped offset a 2% fall in revenues. BT said it ended its financial year with 3% fewer staff, at 116,000 in total including contractors, while its directly employed workforce was slashed by 8%. The firm has previously announced plans to cut up to 55,000 jobs worldwide by 2030 as it looks to shave billions of pounds off its cost base. It said it was on track to deliver on the plans, with more than £900 million of annual cost savings delivered so far. As revenues remain under pressure, the group is forecasting little change to underlying earnings over the new financial year, with guidance for between £8.2 billion and £8.3 billion. Underlying revenues will remain at around £20 billion, having delivered £20.4 billion in 2024-25. But the group said UK service revenues returned to growth in the second half of its last financial year, up 1% in the final quarter, limiting the overall annual decline to 0.4%. Its networks division, called Openreach, was the only part of the business that saw both revenue and earnings growth over the year as it continued to roll out fibre across Britain. The firm said it saw growth in its consumer broadband customer base during the final quarter for the first time since December 2021. Chief executive Allison Kirkby said: 'The momentum in, and impact of, our full fibre programme is such that we are now raising our build target by 20% to up to five million UK premises in 2025-26, keeping us comfortably on track to reach 25 million by the end of 2026.' Ms Kirkby is leading a revamp of the company after taking on the top job last year and is considering selling off or breaking up its international arm, which the group has carved out from the rest of the business as it looks to refocus on its UK operations. BT has been gradually reducing its overseas business as part of wider cost-cutting plans, recently selling off its troubled Italian business and previously agreeing the sale of its Irish wholesale and enterprise business unit. Ms Kirkby said the group had 'accelerated the pace of simplification and transformation' over the past year.
