BT Group CEO Allison Kirkby again flagged the company’s progress on cost cuts in its fiscal H1 2025 (to end-September), with a 2,000 headcount reduction and long-term overheads down, though the company suffered a revenue decline led by its Business division.

At the end of September, its workforce stood at 118,000, down 4 per cent year-on-year. It aims to have this down to between 75,000 and 90,000 in 2029.

It achieved £433 million in gross annualised cost savings.

Kirkby sated the company was “firmly on track to meet our long-term cost savings and cash flow targets”, adding “the accelerated modernisation of our operations, combined with a focus on connecting the UK, puts us in a strong position to generate significant value for all our stakeholders”.

Revenue dropped 3 per cent to £10.1 billion, attributed to challenging conditions in Business with the company highlighting non-UK trading in its Global and Portfolio channels for driving this decline.   

It also highlighted a continued competitive market in its consumer business, where mobile unit EE sits, though this was deemed to be broadly offset by the benefit of price increases from wholesale fixed operation Openreach.

Net profit dropped 11 per cent to £755 million on “lower revenue, higher specific costs and higher net finance”, which it said had been “partly offset by reduction in reported operating costs”.

BT stated “cost transformation” more than offset lower revenue.

For the fiscal year, BT cut its revenue outlook on “weaker non-UK trading including reduced low-margin kit sales, along with a softer environment in corporate and public sector”.