Ian takes up the baton

The beginning of June saw Ian Livingston start work as BT’s chief executive taking over the top job from Ben Verwaayen.

Ian was previously chief executive of BT Retail where under his leadership, the division had returned to growth and sharply increased profitability.

Discussing his appointment, BT chairman, Sir Michael Rake said: “Ian was the board’s unanimous choice to succeed Ben in June. His record of achievement at BT and before that at Dixons is outstanding. He has a deep understanding of BT having served as both group finance director and CEO of BT Retail. He will continue to deliver on a proven strategy. We share a vision of the future for BT as the leading communications services company both in the UK and globally.”

Sir Michael also paid tribute to Ian’s predecessor, Ben Verwaayen who stepped down at the end of May. He said: “Ben has been an exceptional CEO who has transformed the business through his vision and determination. Under his leadership, BT has developed a strategy which has delivered consistent profitable growth and laid strong foundations for the future.”

Finishing flourish

In May, Ben presented his twenty-fifth and final financial results for the company. The full year and Q4 results showed BT finishing the year in style with a particularly strong fourth quarter performance.

Highlights included the continuing positive performance of BT Global Services, BT Retail remaining Britain’s favourite broadband provider in a particularly competitive market, and BT Wholesale making good progress with more than £1 billion of contracts signed in the last quarter of the year. In addition, Openreach has delivered record levels of customer service performance.

Ian’s first results presentation as BT chief executive officer will be in July. In this issue of Analyst you can read about some of Ian’s thoughts on customer service, mobility, BT’s global presence and the ongoing importance of innovation to the business. (Analyst talks to ... Ian Livingston)

BT Results at a glance

Fourth Quarter highlights:

Revenue of £5,422 million, up 2 per cent, with new wave representing 42 per cent
EBITDA, before specific items and leaver costs, of £1,569 million, up 2 per cent
Global Services EBITDA margin increases to 13.7 per cent
Earnings per share before specific items and leaver costs of 7.0 pence, up 11 per cent.

Full year highlights:

Revenue of £20,704 million, up 2 per cent
EBITDA before specific items of £5, 784 million, up 3 per cent
Profit before taxation and specific items of £2,506 million, flat year on year
Broadband end-users of 12.7 million at March 31, 2008 of which BT Retail’s share was 35 per cent.

For more on BT’s preliminary results to March 31, 2008, click here.