All Simon Lowth articles
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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…
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OperationsBT electrifies fleet, charges on with EV infra transition
The BT/Openreach fleet inches towards zero emissions with a 3,500-vehicle order from Ford, Stellantis, Toyota, and Renault, backed by gov grants. Challenges remain, but Etc.’s charging pilot rolls on with a new focus…
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Network & InfrastructureOpenreach chases ‘one network’ architecture with Nokia Altiplano deployment
Access provider confirms Altiplano onboarding, adding further Nokia presence to FTTP infra.
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Weekly BriefingsBTwatch Weekly: earnings add to Kirkby’s optimism
Latest from BT as CEO Allison Kirkby uses drab half-year results to cast vision for the future; Business prepares for Global divestment; Openreach beats fibre expectations; BT riled as Vodafone–Three merger nears…
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Financial & PerformanceKirkby ‘convinced’ of BT strategic plan despite scale of challenge
Q2/H1 FY24-25: BT CEO Allison Kirkby now settled into role and aware of mountain to climb, but no less confident of the Group’s strategic direction.
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Financial & PerformanceIn-depth: change is coming at BT, ‘trust me’
Q2/H1 FY24-25: Group CEO Allison Kirkby calls on investors to ‘trust me’ in wait for promised turnaround as revenue falters in first half of the year.
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Financial & PerformanceSpend: BT past its peak, transformation agenda in full flow
Q2/H1 FY24-25: BT capex drops as Openreach fibre build keeps spend in check.
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Financial & PerformanceGuidance: BT lowers expectations
Q2/H1 FY24-25: BT Group revises revenue outlook for the year from growth to decline.
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Financial & PerformanceOpenreach raises full-fibre target despite capex and headcount cuts
Openreach is doing more with less as it sets a higher bar for full-fibre coverage for the year while shrinking capex and cutting jobs. Learn more…
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Financial & PerformanceBT ‘pulling levers’ to account for UK Budget burden
CFO Simon Lowth puts annual additional cost at £100m for the Group, with transformation plans to be ‘brought forward’ to compensate.
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Financial & PerformanceKirkby: multinational B2B ‘ripe for consolidation’ as BT pursues exit
BT H1: mutlinational corporate segment no longer a telco’s game, says CEO Allison Kirkby, and a divestment will accelerate turnaround plans. Talks ongoing with several parties, with both Global and Portfolio channels up for sale. UK business not immune to decline in the meantime…
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Strategy & ChangeBT CEO prioritises scale as asset monetisation talks re-emerge
As BT considers options for BT Global, where scale was never achieved, CEO Allison Kirkby will use the same measure in discussions about potential portfolio changes elsewhere.
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY23−24 Highlights: Kirkby unveils sharper BT; investors finally cheer
CEO Allison Kirkby lays out her vision for change, tightening the focus of her predecessor to pitch a simpler, nimbler BT Group with a ROCE mindset differentiated by CX. Network superiority remains central as impetus shifts from build to monetisation, without easing up on the former. With B2B a stubborn drag, the one major diversion from Plan Jansen: now UK-first, Global offloaded…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY23−24 In-depth: focus shifts from build to connections, monetisation
CEO Allison Kirkby tees up mindset shift from fibre build to networks monetisation, driving connections to grow ARPU, leveraging the sweat and spend of previous FYs. For FY23−24, consistently solid performance at Consumer and Openreach makes up for perennially painful Business…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY23−24 Spend: capex goes post-peak; further opex savings inbound
Openreach spend declines despite record build, and more to come on both fronts in the next FY. Management tees up another £3bn cost transformation initiative, having exceeded early expectations with the last…
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Financial & PerformanceBT FY23−24 Guidance: consistency with predictable growth by decade-end
As Openreach moves beyond the money pit nadir, BT management forecasts consistent growth by the 2030s. Vague and unqualified expectation for positive momentum comes as Group leverages recent spend for good…