Turnover for BT for the financial year ending March 2008 grew by 4.3pc on last year, mainly drawing on the strength of its ‘new wave’ revenue, or earnings coming from broadband, networked IT services and mobility.
These services accounted for 30pc of BT’s overall revenue this past year, rising by 13pc on last year – a pattern which may continue now the telco has moved into the mobile space for SMEs through a partnership with O2 Ireland.
While BT has been in the mobile market since 2002, this new venture will be both a product and service offering encompassing XDAs, BlackBerrys, mobile broadband and other SME-related communication requirements.
“Whether it’s a one-man business or a firm with €10m turnover and 48 employees, they are all trying to save money and find suppliers they can trust,” said Chris Clark, CEO of BT.
Although SME mobility is a strong focus, much of BT’s performance is a result of broadband uptake. The telco is the No 1 broadband provider in Northern Ireland with a 23pc increase in connections and is now the second biggest DSL broadband provider in the Republic with broadband connections growing by 24pc to 80,000 customers.
As a result of growth in BT’s wholesale division, there are now over 330,000 homes and businesses connected through its broadband services in Northern Ireland.
In the IT training sector, BT has the largest organisation in the country after the opening of the €1m centre in Dublin. With these resources, BT has seen its IT and technology retail website bring a 300pc increase in orders, significantly growing its client base.
While revenue grew by 4.3pc year-on-year to £771m, this was the result of a full year BT turnover of £20.7bn, only 2pc of an increase since last year.
By Marie Boran
Pictured: Chris Clark, CEO, BT and Graham Sutherland, CFO, BT announcing BT’s all-island financial results for year ending March 2008
