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Telecoms giant BT raised its guidance after first-half profit fell by a fifth as revenue was hurt by the pandemic-led reduction in BT Sport revenue and business activity.
The company raised the lower end of the adjusted EBITDA outlook range for 2020/21 to £7.3bn, with a range £7.3bn to £7.5bn expected.
'This performance has given us confidence to raise the lower end of our EBITDA outlook range for this year and publish an EBITDA expectation of at least £7.9bn for 2022/23, with sustainable growth from this level forward,' the company said.
For the half year to 30 September 2020, pre-tax profit fell 20% to £1,062m, driven as revenue fell 8% to £10,590m year-on-year.
The consumer segment, which accounted for nearly half of revenue, saw a 6% decline, and the enterprise segment fell 9%, while the openreach segment was up 2%.
Looking ahead, the company said growth will be 'driven by the continued recovery from Covid-19, enhanced by sales of our converged and growth products, and by significant savings from our modernisation and cost saving programme.'
The company said it planned to reinstate dividends next year.