BT to retain EE brand as profits leap by 24%

Updated

BT has seen pre-tax profits surge by nearly a quarter as it ruled out scrapping the EE brand following its takeover of the mobile operator.

The telecoms giant said its results were ahead of expectations as its bolstered reported pre-tax profits by 24% to £862 million in the third quarter to December 31 2015.

It also recorded its best revenue growth for more than seven years - up 3% to £4.5 billion over the same period.

It came as the group announced a shake-up of the structure of the business following its takeover of mobile operator EE, but said jobs would not be impacted in the short term.

The group said the results were partly fuelled by a strong quarter from its consumers business, which saw revenues grow 11% to £1.2 billion.

Chief executive Gavin Patterson said the third quarter revealed a "strong set of results with good numbers across the board".

He said: "BT Consumer had a stand-out quarter, increasing its overall line base for the first time in well over a decade and capturing 71% of new broadband customers.

"We have completed our acquisition of EE, the UK's best mobile network provider, and are confident that we'll deliver the anticipated cost and revenue synergies."

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