BT, Britain's biggest mobile and broadband provider, said strong demand for fibre broadband and more than £900m of costs savings helped shore up its full-year earnings and boost cash flow.
The company has invested in a fibre network that now covers 18 million premises.
It said today that quarterly net additions had exceeded 500,000 for the first time, with more than 6.5 million now connected.
Resilience in its Openreach networks arm offset revenue and earnings declines in its business and consumer units, which saw legacy voice services continue to wane and lower handset sales.
Chief executive Allison Kirkby said momentum in fibre enabled BT to increase its target to reach 5 million premises this year, putting it "comfortably on track" for 25 million by the ed of 2026, while maintaining its cash flow guidance.
"Fibre is a growth engine for BT as it is for the country, and we're uniquely positioned now to deliver at scale, with ambition and with urgency, the nationwide fibre platform that we've always been aiming for," Kirkby told reporters.
BT reported core earnings of £8.21 billion, up 1% on the previous year but shy ofanalysts'expectations of £8.23 billion. Revenue fell 2%.
Cash flow increased 25% to £1.60 billion, and BT said it was on track for its target of £2 billion in its 2027 financial year and £3 billion by the end of the decade.
It forecast about £20 billion of revenue and £8.2-8.3 billion of core earnings this year.
Shares in BT have risen 27% in the last 12 months.
An FT report on Saturday said BT was nearing a deal to sell its 50% stake in TNT Sports to partner Warner Bros Discovery.
CEO Kirkby said there was nothing new to say, adding that the next call option window for the US company to buy the stake was in the next calendar year.
