Rake says BT will emerge stronger from recession

15th Jul 2009 11:39

BT chairman Michael Rake said the telecom firm will deliver £1bn of cost reductions in the current year and will emerge from the recession stronger.The group said Rake acknowledged the company's 2008/09 financial year had been difficult. "Whilst three of the company's four market facing divisions (BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach) had delivered well, the performance of BT Global Services had been unacceptable and led to the company making a number of substantial charges," said the group.Rake said improving the performance of BT Global Services was a key priority and that the group will improve cash flow by over a third. Rake also said BT must be able to invest and compete in any other country in the same unrestricted manner in which non-UK companies can invest and compete here. He welcomed Ofcom's proposals to address distortions in the Pay TV market but called on the regulator to act swiftly to enforce fair access to premium TV content. Speaking about the full year dividend of 6.5p Rake said: "The Board is committed to delivering attractive returns for shareholders. We believe that operational improvements in the business will generate sufficient cash flow to allow the dividend to grow at the same time as we invest in the business, reduce debt and support the pension scheme.