BT 2015 Annual Report Download - page 4

BT Group plc
Annual Report 2015
2
e have perfored well this ear with our investents deliverin for
the business in challenin aret conditions. e have announced a
nuber of further aor investents to support the lon-ter value
ofour business.
Investing for growth
ur ost sinificant investent has been in superfast broadband.
n 00 when the UK was in the iddle of a recession the oard
approved bold plans to tae fibre broadband to 0 of the countr.
e then increased this taret to two-thirds of the UK a oal we hit
a ear ao. oda our networ covers ore than three-uarters of the
UK. his includes preises in rural and hard-to-reach areas that we have
been able to et to with the help of public fundin followin copetitive
tenders as part of the overnents roadband eliver UK prorae.
ur fibre broadband investent has been a aor achieveent. t has
been one of the fastest rollouts in the world. e have coe in on budet
and ahead of schedule. nd deand for it is stron. he nuber of
preises connected rose over 0 this ear.
e have been able to ae this investent b eercisin stron
financial discipline. ur cash ow is alost four ties hiher than it
waswhen we started buildin our fibre networ as we have sinificantl
transfored our cost base ivin us the oen to invest for rowth.
ein part of a larer roup ave penreach the confidence in future
deand to ae this lon-ter investent. hans to penreach fibre
broadband availabilit is ahead of all the aor uropean countries. nd
broadband pricin in the UK is aonst the lowest with ore than 00
providers sellin services in a hihl copetitive aret.
e will continue to wor with overnent to help tae fibre coverae to
9 of the UK. ut we are not stoppin there. e announced this ear
another aor investent to ae ultrafast speeds of up to 00bps
available to ost of the UK within a decade with 1bps available to
those who want even faster speeds. his will be another sinificant
investent for  ensurin that the UK reains at the forefront of
diital counications with a vibrant internet econo.
his ear we successfull launched  obile into the consuer aret
and re-launched our business obile propositions. e also announced
the proposed acuisition of  the leadin obile operator in the UK.
his will be a transforational deal for  acceleratin our obilit
strate. e will cobine the UKs ost advanced  networ with
the UKs ost etensive superfast broadband networ allowin us to
provide a full rane of innovative counications services.
e have secured soe reat content for our  port channels. e
etended and iproved our  reier eaue and viva reiership
ub broadcast rihts. nd we will start to show our eclusive U
hapions eaue and U uropa eaue content fro this suer.
e will ae sure  port reains reat value and widel available to
UK households.
e have invested further in our custoer service. e recruited 00
new enineers and ore than 00 new people into our contact centres.
nd we are seein the benefits of our investent. e have increased
the speed of service deliver and repaired faults faster. ut we didnt
eet our custoer perception tarets and in a copetitive aret we
need to do ore. his reains an absolute priorit for  and one where
we are coitted to invest and iprove further.
Building our global presence
 sinificant proportion of our revenue is enerated outside the UK
ainl fro lare ultinational businesses.  lobal ervices has aain
consolidated its position as a lobal leader for anaed networed 
services. o best serve our custoers it is critical that we have fair access
to networs across the world. ther operators can use our networs in
the UK on favourable ters. et in the U and soe uropean countries
incubents are allowed a distinct advantae in their hoe arets.
e have therefore continued to wor with overnents around the
world and are encouraed b proress over the last ear. n urope
copletin the iital inle aret is a e polic priorit of the new
uropean oission. nd in the U the ederal ounications
oission is ain proress on its review of the wholesale access
aret. e have continued to enae too on the U-U transatlantic
trade tals seein further iproveents in transatlantic econoic
interation and in reulator coherence.
Rewarding our people
s well as our networs and assets we are also investin in our people
to ae sure the have the sills and support the need to best serve
our custoers. ur perforance in the ear reects their epertise
hard wor and coitent.  a delihted that in uust 01 over
000 people in our 009 savins-related share option plan were able
to bu shares at 1p representin an averae ain of around 1000
each. ur people also ive bac in other was. went-si per cent of
the volunteered 000 das of their tie to help ore than 00
charities and counit roups across the lobe.
Strengthening the Board
 a delihted to welcoe sabel udson who oined the oard on
1 oveber 01. sabel is hair of the ational ouse uildin
ouncil and was previousl a non-eecutive director of he ensions
eulator. er insiht and eperience in the reulator pensions and
financial industries will be a stron asset for  and the oard. s 
entioned last ear ain onn oined the oard on 1 une 01. ain is
chief eecutive of entrica and brins a wealth of eperience ain
a stron contribution to the oard discussions this ear. e announced
in pril that arren ast will be steppin down fro the oard on 1
a 01 in liht of his appointent as chief eecutive of olls-oce.
arren has ade an iense contribution durin his tie at  and
conratulate hi on this iportant appointent.
Generating value for shareholders
s a result of our proress this ear the oard is proposin a final
dividend of .p up 1. his ives a full ear dividend of 1.p
up 1. e epect to row our dividend per share b 10-1
netear and to pa a proressive dividend beond that.
ur oal is to deliver sustainable profitable revenue rowth
supported b the investents we are ain. oether with our cost
transforation activities this will provide a powerful platfor for
lon-ter cash ow rowth and therefore value creation for
our shareholders.
Sir Michael Rake
Chairman
 a 01
Chairman’s introduction
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both BT and the UK.”