All Simon Lowth articles
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Financial & PerformanceIn it for the long haul: BT CEO stays course despite knockbacks
Q2/H1 FY25–26 roundup: Allison Kirkby declares BT to have produced a ‘solid’ six months, and remains bullish on long-term promises, but earnings are yet to reflect efforts as rivals puts pressure on pricing and poach customers…
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Financial & PerformanceGuidance: modest FY to give way for BT’s ambitious 2030 vision
Q2/H1 FY25–26: lack of ambition in FY targets ensures BT remains on track, but end-of-decade goals require transformation acceleration, and soon…
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Financial & PerformanceSpend: BT leaning on AI, job cuts to fuel cost-savings agenda
Q2/H1 FY25–26: cost-cutting agenda running ahead of schedule, and more momentum could be added as AI is deployed more widely and new Chief Digital Officer Peter Leukert gets his hands dirty. Headcount cuts are another major earnings driver as Business and Openreach shrink back…
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Financial & PerformanceIn-depth: BT falling back amid competition
Q2/H1 FY25–26: Group in decline across most metrics of note, but management confident that groundwork (and network) is being laid for a bounce back soon…
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Financial & PerformanceBT says Consumer ‘holding up’, despite ARPU slide — rejects MVNO B-brand
Q2/H1 FY25–26: UK incumbent ready to “compete and defend” against budget-focused rivals, doubling-down on unchanging multi-brand and convergence retail strategies. But lag in system means premium-first efforts are yet to be reflected in poor financials…
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Network & InfraOpenreach turns up the heat on legacy network migration as deadline looms
Access provider wields both carrot and stick in bid to hasten analogue-to-digital migrations, with price hikes and rental discounts among the incentives. Altnet rivals riled, CPs ‘welcome’ the move, and BT/Openreach set to benefit after initial 18-month drag…
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Financial & PerformanceBT CEO snubs fibre M&A, doubling down on Openreach organic growth — despite accelerating line losses
Q2 FY25–26: Allison Kirkby showed little enthusiasm at thought of mopping up fibre altnets as part of much-anticipated consolidation, instead insisting Openreach is best focused on its own game, and set up to beat any incursion — notwithstanding line losses accelerating alarmingly…
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Network & InfraBT taps Starlink to ‘bridge’ fibre gaps in rural reaches
UK telco becomes the latest operator to tie with Starlink to improve rural connectivity offerings for customers. “Landmark” deal follows experimentation with the technology in recent years, with rivals having unveiled their own satellite connectivity plans…
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Strategy & ChangeIndian magnate joins BT board to give long-term investor Bharti a voice at the top
BT Group’s largest shareholder Bharti Enterprises firms up relationship to secure two boardroom seats.
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch Analyst Briefing: tracking BT’s rise
Q1 FY25–26 special: BT’s star continues to rise, with valuation now 50% higher than when CEO Allison Kirkby took over, despite a shaky start to the FY. Consumer and Business fall further back, but ol’ reliable Openreach and its trusty fibre machine is driving the Group forward…
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Financial & PerformanceQ1: BT backers rewarded as confidence remains high
Q1 FY25–26: Group share price ticks up 50% in a year, boosted by Q1 earnings, suggesting Allison Kirkby’s new manager bounce has been sustained. Whether this will continue may well depend on BT’s ability to reverse current trends, as downtrodden business and consumer units continue to fall, despite Openreach best efforts…
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Financial & PerformanceQ1 In depth: BT boss claims ‘solid start’ despite shaky numbers
Q1 FY25–26: CEO Allison Kirkby persistent in long term strategy, but first quarter results put things in perspective. BT Business the usual headache; BT Consumer finds positives despite the headlines; and Openreach cements its reputation as a resilient source of resilient good news…
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PeoplewatchBT poaches VM O2 finance chief as Lowth’s exit confirmed
Patricia Cobian, CFO at Virgin Media O2, is to join rival BT next year, with current CFO Simon Lowth set to retire. BT CEO Allison Kirkby said Cobian brings “invaluable” experience that will help drive BT’s transformation and strategy…
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Analyst BriefingBTwatch Analyst Briefing: regulatory give and take
Latest from BT as the group benefits from spectrum licence fee savings, but warns of potential competitive damage if TAR changes go through as proposed; Simon Lowth reportedly on his way out; 5G SA rollout updates…
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PeoplewatchBT CFO Simon Lowth readies for departure — report
Succession planning underway as reports indicate Lowth will leave within a year, closing out a decade-long tenure and teeing up yet another change to Allison Kirkby’s executive leadership team…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY24−25 Spend: ‘on and off’ contractors help keep cost-cutting on track
BT’s long-running cost-cutting campaign is in full swing, with headcount cuts driving the savings. Capex continues to rise despite earlier promises, but the (revised) peak is in sight…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY24−25 In-depth: another year of transition
Group CEO Allison Kirkby has called the past year one of ‘transition’, but insists a turnaround is imminent. ‘Revenue pressure’ (see, decline) reflects a challenging FY for all divisions, but strategic and structural change at the Group may have set it up for delivery next FY and beyond…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY24−25 Guidance: free cash flow ‘inflection point’ in touching distance
Group misses revised revenue targets, and expects another fall to come, but groundwork has been laid for elusive ‘predictable growth’ two years out…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY24−25: no longer a newcomer, CEO Kirkby begins to make her mark
A year of mixed results, but CEO Allison Kirkby claims the strategic tweaks of her first 15 months are having an impact. A management team overhaul, a renewed domestic focus, and an apparent ability to capture investors’ imagination has set the Group on an upward trend, albeit with plenty of work to do to deliver on her vision…
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Financial & PerformanceOpenreach seeks another gear as altnets gain and CPs flop
FY24–25: BT CEO Allison Kirkby has tossed earlier promises of lower capex, instead fuelling an accelerated fibre build “now that we’ve got the engine humming” to bolster a defence against altnet incursions, and make up for CP shortcomings…