BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) reported a 4% fall in first-quarter profit but has maintained full-year guidance.
The telecoms group posted profit before tax of £505 million for the three months to June, down from £526 million a year ago, as higher financing costs offset lower restructuring expenses.
Revenue from continuing operations was broadly flat at £4.3 billion, while adjusted UK service revenue declined 1% to £3.8 billion.
Underlying profits (EBITDA) fell 1% to just over £2 billion, although BT said it was broadly unchanged after stripping out one-off benefits from the previous year.
Openreach profits rose 2% to £1.1 billion, helped by higher full-fibre take-up, improved broadband speeds and price increases. However, consumer EBITDA fell 3% to £616 million and business earnings dropped 7% to £302 million.
Chief executive Allison Kirkby said BT had made a "solid start to the year", with fibre contributing more than half of broadband revenue for the first time.
Openreach added a record 574,000 full-fibre customers during the quarter, taking the total to 9.4 million and lifting its take-up rate to 40%. Its network now passes 23.4 million premises and remains on track to reach 25 million by the end of December.
For the full year, Kirkby said the company is "on track" to deliver targets, including adjusted EBITDA of £8.1-8.2 billion and normalised free cash flow of around £2 billion this year.
