Dominant British telecoms group BT Group has reported a 56% jump in first-quarter pre-tax profits, but turnover was flat on the previous year as the number of voice calls continued to fall.
Underlying pre-tax profit rose to £502m in the three months to the end of June, helped by lower interest payments and cost-cutting. But turnover was unchanged at £4.586 billion.
Net debt dropped to just below £9 billion, down by a third on one year ago, helping to slash the interest payment which had weighed on profits.
BT maintained its residential market share of around 73%, but total geographic call volumes declined by 7% from the first quarter last year.
