All Simon Lowth articles
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY21–22: foundations in place, but cracks widening
CEO Jansen calls in fibre favours from Openreach to offer positive spin on results mixed bag.
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Financial & Performance
BT Q3: king of a still‑wobbly hill
Corporate weakness postpones recovery, with BT Global recuperating and BT Enterprise still in surgery. Rational rivals embraced, but warned of “Armageddon scenario”, with Sky current BFF. Discovery tie-up a win-win for BT Sport (but what about for BT itself?). Openreach charges on, hitting new records for FTTP connections and ...
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Financial & Performance
Q3 FY21–22: king of a still‑wobbly castle
Rational rivals embraced, but warned of “Armageddon scenario”, with Sky current BFF. Mixed results force management to cling to customer satisfaction and market share security blankets. Inflation a bonus for Consumer’s linked pricing. ‘Jam tomorrow’ outlook reiterated.
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Financial & Performance
H1 FY21–22: flat figures at BT Consumer do not curb Jansen enthusiasm
Consumer division sees revenue and earnings knock in Q2. Numbers show slow going on multi-play uptake, and star product and service lines being outshone by accessories. Executives remain bullish on the long‑term growth promise of convergence, however.
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Financial & Performance
H1 FY21–22 Guidance: BT’s past investment heralded as future hope
Progress on track and meeting expectations, with management pitching Enterprise as the one to watch for revenue growth. Fibre build phase “done” with anticipated returns to be reaped during “selling and populating” phase, now underway. Build moves Openreach to ‘fibre franchise’, with market rivals striving for scale.
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Financial & Performance
H1 FY21–22 Spend: efficiencies found to give BT an edge
Improved cost points for BT’s fibre rollout front and centre, make for positive viewing. Operating expenditure down across the board, and capex up at CFUs.
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Financial & Performance
H1 FY21–22 Headlines: an uphill climb for some, others still falling at BT
Struggling enterprise businesses bring numbers down, with legacy stop‑sells blamed and next‑generation services expected to drive a turnaround. Consumer flat as wins offset losses, but market opportunity growing despite upped competition. Openreach a prince among paupers with fibre goals accelerated amid strong uptake and bullish stance.
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Financial & Performance
H1 FY21–22 at BT: scale and service to beat competition
InfraCo JV talks closed as rising fibre demand and lower build costs dilute benefits of external funding. CFUs continue their struggle, with Global faring especially poorly in pandemic bounce‑back, but new services and improved brand reputation appear a source of hope. Future revenue growth anticipated, but efficiencies and reduced ...
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Vendor Voice
The Telco-Techco differentiator: unleashing strategic data
The value of data multiplies significantly once you integrate it. Breaking down silos to seamlessly orchestrate data can deliver a virtuous circle of customer experience improvement and operational efficiency, presenting a springboard for strategic reboot. Embracing data as mission-critical must be led from the top. Hyperscale partnerships provide an ...
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Strategy & Change
Openreach off the table as BT drives fibre efficiency
Group ends talks on InfraCo JV as rising fibre demand and lower build costs dilute benefits of external funding. Virgin Media O2 firmly in BT sights as it aims to lock up wholesale market, and move fast on convergence. Future revenue growth anticipated, but greater efficiency and lower spending ...
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M&A
BT Pension Scheme completes Hermes exit
Federated Hermes actions call option to acquire BTPS’s residual shareholding in fund manager. BT on track with pension deficit recovery plan.
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Network & Infrastructure
Jansen now sees BT chasing 30 million premises with full‑fibre
Extra five million presented as ‘infill’ and presumably more rural. Immediate competitive riposte to news of Virgin Media O2 FTTP retrofit, which it neatly doubles. Jansen says BT not concerned, but challenger altnets should be. No rush for fibre JV partner, but Jansen reveals a UK compatriot would be ...
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Financial & Performance
BT Q1 FY21–22: another toughie, but with promise(s)
Q1 reiterated as a road to a recovery that will materialise in H2. Consumer reviving but Global eponymously damned. Microsoft deal more than slideware. Virgin Media–O2 FTTP investment could be a backhanded compliment and gift to BT.
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Financial & Performance
Q4 FY20–21 — Enterprise judders; next stop Shuter’s refit
Hybrid display of worst of Consumer and best of Enterprise. Shuter’s makeover blueprint to be unveiled at Business Briefing. Almost entirely ignored by Jansen and Lowth on analyst’s call.
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Financial & Performance
Q4 FY20–21 — Global’s resilience sapped by pandemic
COVID-19 impact hitting more KPIs. Jansen and Lowth retain faith. Growth plans pinned on SD-WAN, managed security, and now 5G FWA.
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Financial & Performance
Destination: new BT; ETA 2026
Jansen again evangelising glorious digital future: five‑year timescale reiterated, with promises of peak fibre investment passing and financial nirvana arriving. Stability predicted for FY21–22. Investors more interested in gruel on today’s menu rather than jam promised tomorrow. The court of public opinion may ultimately rule on ...
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Financial & Performance
BT Q3 FY20–21 results: gone today, (hopefully) here tomorrow
Nobody obviously interested in Q3, but shares down sharply. Calendar of optimism around pandemic bounce back and fresh starts. Jansen despairingly concedes transformation will take at least five years. BT doing best to railroad Ofcom on fibre-critical WFTMR.
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People
BT’s Jansen set to add Sharp Shuter to evolving dream team
BT Enterprise successor Rob Shuter to land at the start of February. Shuter and Chief Digital Innovation Officer Harmeen Mehta fill out Jansen’s A‑Team , leading “ furious ” pursuit of transformation goals. New hires complement other Group rising stars, adding gusto to the Jansen ...
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Financial & Performance
BT Enterprise dials down on B2B costs
BT Enterprise flags more cost-cutting measures are being implemented as COVID‑19 disruption adds to the broader challenges it faces in the digital era. As ever, partner and supplier consolidation and change is part of the plan. CEO Jansen presents enterprise 5G as bright spot amid ...
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Strategy & Change
Jansen floats potential for Openreach stake sale
“Open‑minded” Jansen may see an Openreach stake sale as a way to relieve pressure on investor demands for a quicker transformation. While CEO’s tone more positive on an asset sale, the challenges of extricating elements of the Group for a sell‑off may limit options.
