LONDON (Alliance News) - BT Group PLC Friday raised its full-year expectations for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, as it saw revenue and pretax profit rise in its third quarter.
BT now expects full-year EBITDA to meet the upper end of the GBP6.0 billion to GBP6.1 billion range.
The company saw revenue rise 2% to GBP4.60 billion in the quarter ended December 31, 2013, up from GBP4.38 billion in the previous year. BT said growth had been boosted by growth in its BT Sport service.
Third-quarter pretax profit rose to GBP617 million, up 6% from GBP583 million in the previous year.
EBITDA was flat at GBP1.54 billion for the quarter, as cost savings offset the company's investment in its new BT Sport service. This brings BT's EBITDA for the first nine months of the year to GBP4.41 billion.
The company said that it had had another "record quarter" of fibre broadband take-up, with more than 18 million premises with access to its fibre.
Its BT Sport customer base rose 500,000 in the quarter to 2.5 million, up from the 2 million reported at its interim results. The company said that it had attracted particularly strong audiences during December, and expressed confidence that its recently won rights to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League would further strengthen the appeal of its sports service.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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BT (BT.A)