BT share price: 4 things to watch out for in its Q1 results
The British telecoms company will unveil its first quarter results on Friday, with it looking to retreat from much of its international operations and focus on the UK market to support its declining share price.
BT Group is set to release its Q1 earnings on Friday, with the investors keen for an update on its restructuring plans that will see it exit many of its European operations in favour of focusing on the UK market.
IG takes a look at the key things to watch out for in its upcoming results.
BT’s share price continues to struggle
2019 is proving to be a challenging year for BT, with its share price down 18% to 193p a share as of 10:40 GMT on Tuesday, down from 240p levels at the beginning of January.
In fact, the British telecoms company has seen its stock steadily lose more than 62% of its value over the last three and half years, forcing it to take drastic action in a bid to stop it sliding any further.
BT to retreat from international operations
BT’s management has begun offloading ‘everything outside the UK’, with the company putting its entire Latin American business up for sale, according to recent reports.
The rationale behind retreating from its operations overseas is to allow the company to focus its attention on its domestic business in the UK market and stop its share price from sliding any further.
Since taking over as CEO in February, Philip Jansen has put several overseas units up for sale, including its operation in Italy, Ireland and Spain.
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BT looks to roll-out superfast fibre broadband in the UK
At the company’s recent annual general meeting (AGM), Jansen said that the capital raised from the sale of its overseas assets will help fund its investment in full-fibre broadband in the UK.
In its annual results, the said it aims to connect more than 15 million households and business with superfast broadband by the mid-2020s.
BT expected to slash dividend to fund fibre expansion
At its AGM, BT hinted that it may cut its dividend, along with other cost-cutting measures, to help finance its superfast fibre broadband expansion in the UK.
Investors will be eager to see if the company announces a reduction in the dividend in its upcoming Q1 results next week, especially with the business embarking on an ambitious turnaround plan to stop its share price sliding further.
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