July 22, 2010
BT Chairman - 2009/10 was a "year of delivery"
BT chairman Sir Michael Rake today highlighted the company’s return to profit in the 2009/10 financial year, describing the period as a “year of delivery”.
He said “A lot has changed since last year’s annual general meeting and I’m pleased to say that, from BT’s perspective, a lot of that change has been for the better”.
Rake was speaking at the BT Annual General Meeting in Liverpool. In his speech he cited how BT had cut its cost base - by £1.8 billion in the 09/10 financial year - and increased its cash flow by more than a billion pounds to £1.9 billion in the same period.
Rake said both achievements enabled BT to invest for the future, reduce its debt, support its pension scheme and reward its shareholders with a progressive dividend.
The turnaround at BT Global Services was singled out by Rake who highlighted how costs had been reduced and EBITDA progressively improved at the division throughout the year.
He said, “We have seen cost transformation at Global Services, leading to a marked improvement in profitability. I am now in the happy position where I can stand before you and say that we have a very solid performance across all of our main operating divisions”.
Rake finished his speech by saying that whilst BT was a “much better company than a few years ago” it could not afford any complacency.
