Allison Kirkby (pictured) pledged commitment to BT Group’s purpose and strategic focus as she officially took the reins as CEO, coming into the job with some momentum as the operator recorded a revenue increase in fiscal Q3 2023 (calendar Q4).

Kirkby succeeded Philip Jansen as the operator’s chief executive.

In a trading update, Kirkby pointed to a quarter of revenue growth while stating it rapidly upgraded customers to its fibre and 5G networks.

Revenue rose 3 per cent year-on-year to £5.3 billion, with its Openreach unit performing strongest with sales up 7 per cent to £1.5 billion due to strong demand for FTTP services and increased ARPU.

Sales at its consumer unit, which includes mobile operator EE, rose 5 per cent to £2.6 billion, but this was offset by a 4 per cent decline to £2 billion by its business segment.

BT explained the unit’s performance was impacted by higher input costs, legacy systems and one-off charges.

The company does not break out net profit figures in trading updates.

Kirkby also said the company was on track to achieve its outlook for the year.