BT leads the FTSE down on profits decline

Shares in BT dropped more than 11% after the global communications firm reported a 15% drop in pre-tax profits, but reiterated its guidance that dividend and earnings would grow.

BT was the biggest loser in the FTSE 100 early on in London, dropping as much as 12.4% to 173.1p.

Profits before tax, but after specific items, fell by 15% to £513 million from April to May when compared with the same period last year when it made £600 million. Profits as measured by EBITDA were up just 1% in the second quarter of the year.

However, chief executive Ian Livingston said the pipeline of new business remained strong and confirmed that there would be no change to the company’s positive forecast for growth in revenue, EBITDA (a measure of a company’s profitability), earnings per share and dividends per share in this financial year.