BT posts flat results following EE merger green light

Telecoms giant BT posted flat results for its second quarter earnings, just days after it was given the green light by Blighty's spending watchdog to snap up mobile operator EE for £12.5bn.

For the three months to September, the one-time state monopoly posted flat revenue of £4.38bn for the second half of 2015, compared with the same period last year. Profit before tax was up two per cent to £706m.

Gavin Patterson, BT chief exec, noted demand for broadband remains strong with fibre net additions up 21 per cent, hitting five million.

He added: “We’ve seen good demand for BT Sport Europe and this has helped us add a record number of BT TV customers in the quarter."

"Its contribution has been better than we expected, helping drive a seven per cent increase in BT Consumer revenue. Mobile is another growth area and I am pleased our consumer customer base now stands at more than 200,000," he added.

"And I am also pleased that yesterday, the Competition and Markets Authority provisionally approved our planned acquisition of EE, unconditionally without remedies," said Patterson.

BT is keen to move further into the mobile and entertainment space, something it hopes to achieve with its EE gobble.

The Competition and Markets regulator said yesterday the proposed acquisition, which is expected to be completed by March next year, was "not expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition in any market in the UK". ®