BT 1998 Annual Report Download - page 3

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CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
3
Our capacity to address such opportunities and
to meet the challenges of change depends to
a great extent on the skills and commitment of
our employees and I thank all BT people for the
continued dedication which they have shown
to the company over the year.
In a word, we have the right people, the right
strategy and the right positioning for success.
And we aim to continue to translate that strategy
into long-term shareholder value.
I also wish to pay tribute to those directors
who retired from the Board during the year,
Birgit Breuel, Yve Newbold, Bert Roberts Jnr,
Dr Alan Rudge and Gerald Taylor, each of whom
made a much appreciated and distinctive
contribution to the company’s progress during
their term of office.
We are pleased to welcome our new non-executive
directors, Helen Alexander and Neville Isdell, to
our Board. We also welcome Sir John Weston, who
will join the Board in the autumn.
In a break with tradition, I would like to close
this Chairman’s statement on a personal note.
I announced earlier this year that, with effect from
31 July, I will become part-time Chairman, having
been fortunate enough to serve as your company’s
full-time, executive Chairman for over ten years.
BT now has a strong and experienced senior
management team in place, under the leadership
of Chief Executive, Sir Peter Bonfield. There is
no longer a need for two full-time executives at
the helm.
That said, I shall continue to play a full part in the
life of the company and I can assure you that my
personal commitment to BT and to the industry
is undiminished.
Sir Iain Vallance
Chairman
26 MAY 1998
Financial highlights
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 1998
1998 1997 1996
!!!11110!!!11110!!!11110
Turnover £15,640m £14,935m £14,446m
MCI break-up fee
net of expenses £238m ––
Operating profit £3,657m £3,245m £3,100m
Profit before taxation £3,219m £3,203m £3,019m
Windfall tax charge £510m ––
Profit after taxation £1,731m £2,101m £1,992m
Earnings per share 26.7p 32.8p 31.6p
Earnings per share before
exceptional items 31.7p 32.8p 31.6p
Dividends per share – ordinary 19.00p 19.85p 18.70p
– special – 35.00p –
Net cash flow from
operating activities £6,076m £6,192m £5,834m
Capital expenditure £3,030m £2,719m £2,771m
000011!!!11110!!!11110!!!11110