BT Group (LON:BT.A) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

BT Group (LON:BT.A) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The communications services company reported GBX 9.70 EPS for the quarter, Digital Look Earnings reports. BT Group had a return on equity of 6.33% and a net margin of 4.11%. The business had revenue of GBX 875.30 billion during the quarter.

Here are the key takeaways from BT Group’s conference call:

• BT reported 1% growth in first-half revenue and EBITDA and reiterated its guidance, including around £2 billion of normalized free cash flow in FY2027 and £3 billion by FY2030. First-half normalized free cash flow was £236 million, however, reflecting timing-related headwinds that management expects to ease.
• Openreach connected its 10 millionth full-fibre customer and passed more than 24 million premises, with connections setting a record and broadband line losses 11% lower year over year. Openreach EBITDA rose 4%, supported by growth and lower costs.
• Transformation delivered £312 million of annualized gross savings in the half and £1.7 billion cumulatively, alongside an 11% reduction in total labor resource. BT also migrated 1.1 million customers from the legacy PSTN network, with about 1 million remaining before the January 2027 deadline.
• Performance was uneven across customer-facing businesses: Consumer EBITDA fell 1% and Business EBITDA fell 7%, with voice migration, legacy-product declines and brand investment weighing on results. BT expects Business to improve in the second half and said Consumer EBITDA should be broadly flat for the full year.
• BT expects the TalkTalk acquisition to cost around £400 million in FY2027, excluding it from current-year guidance while regulatory review continues. Separately, the company agreed a pension funding plan that is expected to reduce the deficit to about £300 million after bond issuance, while BT also plans a Verizon joint venture for its international operations.

BT Group Stock Up 0.1%

LON:BT.A traded up GBX 0.20 on Thursday, reaching GBX 231.80. The stock had a trading volume of 2,147,000,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,939,121. BT Group has a 12-month low of GBX 173 and a 12-month high of GBX 247.30. The stock has a market cap of £22.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 187.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of GBX 203.90 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 205.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on BT Group from GBX 175 to GBX 165 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 300 price target on shares of BT Group in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BT Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 231.25.

More BT Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting BT Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BT reported a 12% rise in half-year pretax profit to £1.07 billion, its second-quarter results beat forecasts, and it raised its interim dividend while maintaining its outlook. The pension deficit also narrowed, supporting the positive investor response to the results. BT Group Reports 12% Rise in Half-Year Pretax Profit BT shares up as pension deficit falls and second quarter tops forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Record fibre take-up is helping underpin earnings, and BT shares were reported at eight-year highs. Berenberg reaffirmed its “buy” rating and set a 300p price target, above the recent trading level. BT shares at eight-year highs after record fibre take-up Berenberg Bank recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: BT has cut more than 11,000 jobs over the past year. This may help reduce costs, although the longer-term effect on operations and service delivery is uncertain. BT sheds more than 11,000 jobs
• Negative Sentiment: Openreach is expected to miss its target of passing 25 million premises with fibre by year-end, with the milestone now anticipated in March. The delay adds a near-term execution risk to BT’s fibre expansion. BT to miss Openreach fibre rollout target

About BT Group

BT Group is the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services.

BT Group consists of four customer-facing units: Consumer serves individuals and families in the UK; Business covers companies and public services in the UK; International serves multinational organisations headquartered outside the UK and overseas public sector customers; Openreach is an independently governed, wholly owned subsidiary wholesaling fixed access infrastructure services to its customers – over 700 communications providers across the UK.
British Telecommunications Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group.