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The results of associates and joint ventures, split between continuing and discontinued activities, are shown below:

  2004   2003   2002  
  £m   £m   £m  






Share of turnover:      
    Continuing activities 395   1,455 4,049
    Discontinued activities   715






Total 395   1,455 4,764






Share of operating (loss) profit before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items:
    Continuing activities       (8 ) 181 (108 )
    Discontinued activities   74






Total (8 )  181 (34 )






The group’s share of associates’ and joint ventures’ turnover reduced by £1,060 million during the 2004 financial year mainly reflecting the disposal of the group’s interest in Cegetel in the 2003 financial year.
     During the 2003 financial year there was a significant rationalisation of the group’s investments in associates and joint ventures. On 1 April 2002 the unwind of the Concert global venture was completed and on 22 January 2003 the sale of the group’s stake in Cegetel was completed. As a result BT’s share of its ventures’ turnover fell to £1,455 million in the 2003 financial year from £4,764 million in the 2002 financial year. In the 2004 financial year, £386 million of the total arose from ventures located outside the UK, compared with £1,447 million in the 2003 financial year and £4,618 million in the 2002 financial year.
     The principal contributors to turnover in the 2004 financial year were LG Telecom in Korea (£196 million) and Albacom in Italy (£147 million). The principal contributors to turnover in the 2003 financial year were Cegetel in France (£956 million) up to the date of disposal and LG Telecom (£198 million). The principal contributors to turnover from continuing activities in the 2002 financial year were Concert (£2,158 million), Cegetel (£1,068 million) and LG Telecom (£240 million).      The principal contributors to turnover from discontinued activities in the 2002 financial year were Japan Telecom and J-Phone (£559 million to June 2001) and Airtel (£76 million to June 2001).
     The group’s share of its ventures’ operating losses from continuing activities before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items totalled £8 million in the 2004 financial year. This compares to a profit of £181 million and a loss of £108 million in the 2003 and 2002 financial years, respectively.
     The principal contributor to the group’s share of operating profits from continuing activities before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items in the 2003 financial year was Cegetel (£198 million) and in the 2002 financial year the principal contributor to the loss was Concert (£225 million) offset by profits from Cegetel (£168 million).
     Exceptional items within the operating (losses) profits from joint ventures and associates are as follows:

    2004   2003   2002  
£m £m £m







 
Goodwill impairment 26     173  
Impairment of Concert     806  
Concert unwind costs     81  
Impairment of investments and (release) charge of related exit costs   (150 ) 234  







Total exceptional operating costs (credits) 26   (150 ) 1,294  







In the 2004 financial year, BT charged its share of an exceptional goodwill impairment made by Albacom, amounting to £26 million.
     In the 2003 financial year BT completed the exit from its investment in Blu on more favourable terms than anticipated and accordingly exit cost provisions of £150 million were released.
     Concert’s performance was a cause of concern in 2001 and in October 2001 BT and AT&T announced the unwind of Concert which was subsequently completed on 1 April 2002. On completion, the businesses, customer accounts and networks returned to the two parent companies with BT and AT&T each taking ownership of substantially those parts of Concert originally contributed by them. As part of the settlement with AT&T for the unwind of the Concert global venture, BT received net cash of US$72 million (£56 million). This net settlement includes the receipt of US$350 million reflecting the allocation of the businesses and the payment of US$278 million to achieve the equal division of specified working capital and other liability balances.
     BT and AT&T also terminated their Canadian joint venture agreement under which BT was committed to participate in AT&T’s future obligation to acquire all of the publicly traded shares of AT&T Canada. AT&T has taken full ownership of BT’s interest in the Canadian joint venture and in AT&T Canada, and has now assumed full responsibility for all future obligations of the joint venture. BT has now ceased to have any interest in AT&T Canada, and has been released from its future expenditure commitment associated with AT&T Canada.
     In the 2002 financial year BT wrote down the carrying value of its investments in both Concert and AT&T Canada. The exceptional impairment charge of £1,153 million against these investments comprises Concert goodwill impairment of £260 million, Concert tangible fixed asset write-downs of £546 million and the write off of BT’s £347 million interest in AT&T Canada (included within amounts written off investments).
     BT also recognised exceptional restructuring charges of £81 million for its share of redundancy and other unwind costs in Concert and BT’s own unwind costs of £172 million have been charged against group operating costs in the 2002 financial year.
     In the 2002 financial year exceptional impairment charges and related exit costs totalling £407 million, principally relating to goodwill and asset impairments in Blu and SmarTone, were recognised in the light of the rapidly changing global telecoms market conditions.
     Goodwill amortisation in the 2004 financial year amounted to £nil, compared to £2 million in the 2003 financial year and £53 million in the 2002 financial year. The reduction in the 2003 financial year reflects the disposals and the goodwill impairment charges referred to above.

 

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