A little like oom really from my point of view - I believe they are the favoured company within their sector and despite the markets - Oftel and the G3 nonsense they will climb back. They pay a divi and this wioll be seen to be increasingly important in the days to come. They have new management and are looking to enhance shareholder value .....

I hold and swing trade a few and not adverse to intraday trading them.

ains


BT in web-based investor relations drive

London, February 7 2003, (netimperative)



by Chris Lake

BT is launching a web-based scheme which it hopes will improve communications with its retail shareholders and help cut costs.


Dubbed 'ShareholderPlus', the system allows investors to sign up and receive BT communications - such as reports, news releases, mandates and, subject to a change in the law, electronic tax vouchers - by email, rather than by post.

BT said this will help it achieve cost savings - by not having to print and despatch reports - and pointed out that it is also good for the environment.

Furthermore, it has negotiated a number of deals with companies such as Virgin Wines, Apollo Travel, RSA and National Car Rental, to market the service and said it will add new offers in the future if it proves to be a success.

BT claims to be one of the first FTSE100 companies to launch such a programme, though it is likely that more will follow.

www.btplc.com/shareholderplus

By Braden Reddall, UK telecoms correspondent

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - Britain's dominant telecoms group BT Group Plc delivered strong full-year profits and a better-than-expected dividend on Thursday, while also putting some fears to rest about its huge pension fund deficit.

Shares, which have recovered recently from a massive sell-off amid concerns about BT's pension fund, rose up to six percent. By 0830 GMT, they were 1.1 percent up at 187 pence.

Investors welcomed the profits and dividend, though bearish analysts still wonder how much top line growth the former monopoly can generate in an increasingly competitive market.

Under Britain's FRS17 accounting standards yet to be used in practice, BT reported an end-March 6.3 billion pound ($10.4 billion) shortfall in one of the UK's largest pension funds, which has been hammered by three years of declining stocks.

But under the less stringent Funding Valuation measure, BT reported a pension scheme deficit of 2.1 billion pounds as of December 31. As a result, its annual cash contribution to top up the fund will rise by only 32 million pounds to 232 million.

BT Chief Executive Ben Verwaayen said the valuation should be welcomed by the 370,000 pension fund members and BT's shareholders alike.

"The pension fund is safe. We have certainty now. What matters to our pensioners of course is what about the funding and what about the funding valuation," Verwaayen told reporters on a conference call. "It's good news for our investors because we are absolutely certain."

Underlying pre-tax profit rose 44 percent to 1.829 billion pounds in the year to the end of March, at the top end of a range of forecasts from 10 analysts polled by Reuters. Earnings per share also hit the top end of forecasts at 14.2 pence.

The company also pleased investors with a 4.25 pence final dividend per share, raising the total payout to 6.5 pence from 2.0 pence last year. "We have a very solid dividend payment this year, and we see improvements going forward," Verwaayen said.

Revenue rose two percent to 18.727 billion pounds, in line with forecasts.

Analysts praised the earnings numbers and higher dividend, and welcomed an end to speculation about the pension gap.

"Clarity on the pension funding situation should now ease one of the major concerns dogging the stock," said Nomura telecoms analyst Mark James, reiterating a "buy" recommendation.


MORE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SUBSCRIBERS

BT is also on the brink of meeting its mid-2003 target for one million high-speed Internet connections. As of May 16, BT had 936,000 broadband subscribers on its network through its own and other Internet service providers.

Net debt dropped to 9.6 billion pounds, from 13.7 billion one year before.

BT's 6.3 billion pound FRS17 pension deficit, which was net of tax, was lower than some analysts had expected. Indicating the volatility of the measure, BT said the FRS17 position as of May 16 showed a reduced deficit of 5.7 billion pounds.

But FRS17 standards are not yet in use in accounting, and under the old SSAP 24 valuation that aims to iron out volatility the deficit was 1.4 billion pounds at the end of March. This would result in a 120 million pounds increase in the pension charge in its profit and loss account in the current year.

Finance Director Ian Livingston said: "What's important in all of this of course is the cash flow emanating from the fund, because that's the thing that pays the pension."

"Overall the money coming into the fund in the form of dividends and contributions is actually more than we paid out to the pensioners, and we expect that to be the situation for a number of years to come." (Additional reporting by William Kemble-Diaz)

SKY

UK TAKES TO BROADBAND


There are now two million broadband users in Britain, according to telecom regulator Oftel.

It said 35,000 people are signing up every week for broadband, which provides a faster service and a permanent link to the web.


Last October it was only 20,000 a month.

Oftel said lower prices and increased competition had been boosting sales.

The Government said it was stepping up its efforts to speed up the roll-out of broadband across the country.

E-commerce Minister Stephen Timms said every school would be connected by 2006.






Last Updated: 11:18 UK, Thursday May 22, 2003

Adds more quotes from conference call, fund manager, Moody's)
By Braden Reddall, UK telecoms correspondent

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - Britain's dominant telecoms group BT Group Plc delivered strong full-year profits and a better-than-expected dividend on Thursday, while also putting some fears to rest about its $10.4 billion pension fund deficit.

BT shares, having recovered in recent weeks from pension fund fears that led to a sell-off earlier this year, rose 3.4 percent to 191-1/2 pence, putting the stock on course for its highest close in four months.

Investors welcomed the profits and dividend, but bearish analysts wondered how much revenue growth the former monopoly can generate in an increasingly competitive market. And Moody's Investor Service saw the pension deficit as a cause for concern.

Under Britain's FRS17 accounting standards yet to be used in practice, BT reported an end-March 6.3 billion pound ($10.4 billion) shortfall in one of the UK's two largest pension funds, which has been hammered by three years of declining stocks.

But under the less stringent Funding Valuation from an independent actuary, which determines how much cash BT must pay to top up the fund, the pension deficit was 2.1 billion pounds on December 31.

As a result, BT's annual cash contribution to the fund will rise by only 32 million pounds to 232 million, far less than the 100 million pounds increase predicted by analysts.

Chief Executive Ben Verwaayen said the news would please its 370,000 pension fund members, as well as BT shareholders.

"It is very important that we have certainty. We know where we are. The numbers were all over the place," Verwaayen said, referring to wide-ranging forecasts for the pension deficit.

Underlying pre-tax profit rose 44 percent to 1.829 billion pounds in the year to end-March, at the top end of forecasts in a Reuters poll, helped by sharply lower interest payments on debt. Earnings per share also hit the top end of forecasts at 14.2 pence. Revenue rose two percent to 18.727 billion pounds.


DIVIDEND SURPRISE

BT also pleased investors by tripling the total dividend to 6.5 pence, and Verwaayen said the payout could improve further in the future. But analysts say this depends on whether Moody's improves BT's debt rating, and early signs were not good.

"The absolute size of the pension deficit under FRS17 does cause us some concern and it's definitely an overhang on the rating," Moody's telecoms credit analyst Aidan Fisher said.

But BT's 2011 bonds GB012368488= improved, with the yield tightening four points to 131 basis points over government debt.

Karen Robertson, fund manager at Standard Life Investments, praised the results but wondered about the potential impact of leading British retailers, such as Tesco TSCO.L and Carphone Warehouse CPW.L , entering the market for home phone services.

"They still make the bulk of their profits from the core business, and they're facing competitive pressures," she said.

But Verwaayen, forced to abandon ambitious revenue targets last year, sought to answer the concerns by pointing to falling cancellation numbers and emphasising BT's focus on profits.

"We are not looking for revenue growth, we are looking for profitable growth," he told reporters on a conference call.

One such "profit engine" is broadband, and BT is on the brink of hitting a mid-2003 goal of one million high-speed Internet connections. As of May 16, BT had 936,000 broadband users through its own and other Internet service providers.

BT's net debt fell to 9.6 billion pounds from 13.7 billion last year, hitting another target of sub-10 billion pound debts.

The pension deficit under FRS17, which takes a snapshot view, was lower than analysts had expected. Illustrating the volatility of the measure, BT said the FRS17 position as of May 16 showed a lower deficit of 5.7 billion pounds.

As for persistent rumours about BT buying back mobile offspring mmO2 OOM.L , Verwaayen repeated his belief in simply buying in services that can be packaged for clients.

"You don't need to own the mobile operator to be able to bundle for your customers," he said. (Additional reporting by William Kemble-Diaz and Alex Clelland)

LONDON (AFX) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has affirmed its 'A-' long-term and 'A-2' short-term corporate credit ratings on BT Group PLC, with a stable outlook.
"The continuing strong market position of BT's UK fixed-line voice and data business, supported by the group's focus on operating and capital efficiency, has enabled BT to sustain strong operating profitability and cash flow," said S&P's credit analyst Peter Kernan.

"Standard & Poor's has reviewed the assumptions that underlie BT's actuarial pensions deficit, and the way in which the scheme's funding level is being monitored and managed, and believes them to be reasonable," he said.

S&P expects BT to continue to generate free operating cash flow of more than 1.5 bln stg per year, enabling the group to comfortably fund its pension deficiency contributions and continue to reduce its reported net debt.

"BT is committed to financial discipline and we assume the group will continue to generate significant discretionary cash flow (free operating cash flow after cash dividends), which will be used to further deleverage the group's balance sheet and further strengthen its credit profile," he added.

"BT is expected to pursue a conservative and tightly controlled strategy, in particular with regard to its acquisitions and dividends policy, and maintain a strong business risk profile," Kernan said.

newsdesk@afxnews.com

16:09 BST

UPDATE 5-BT boosted by annual profits, pension relief

(Adds S&P comment paragraph 13, updates shares)
By Braden Reddall, UK telecoms correspondent

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - Britain's dominant telecoms group BT Group Plc delivered strong full-year profits and a better-than-expected dividend on Thursday, while also putting some fears to rest about its $10.4 billion pension fund deficit.

BT shares, having recovered in recent weeks from pension fund fears that led to a sell-off earlier this year, rose 2.6 percent to 189-3/4 pence in late afternoon trade, putting the stock on course for its highest close in four months.

Investors welcomed the profits and dividend, but bearish analysts wondered how much revenue growth the former monopoly can generate in an increasingly competitive market. And Moody's Investor Service saw the pension deficit as a cause for concern.

Under Britain's FRS17 accounting standards yet to be used in practice, BT reported an end-March 6.3 billion pound ($10.4 billion) shortfall in one of the UK's two largest pension funds, which has been hammered by three years of declining stocks.

But under the less stringent Funding Valuation from an independent actuary, which determines how much cash BT must pay to top up the fund, the pension deficit was 2.1 billion pounds on December 31.

As a result, BT's annual cash contribution to the fund will rise by only 32 million pounds to 232 million, far less than the 100 million pounds increase predicted by analysts.

Chief Executive Ben Verwaayen said the news would please its 370,000 pension fund members, as well as BT shareholders.

"It is very important that we have certainty. We know where we are. The numbers were all over the place," Verwaayen said, referring to wide-ranging forecasts for the pension deficit.

Underlying pre-tax profit rose 44 percent to 1.829 billion pounds in the year to end-March, at the top end of forecasts in a Reuters poll, helped by sharply lower interest payments on debt. Earnings per share also hit the top end of forecasts at 14.2 pence. Revenue rose two percent to 18.727 billion pounds.


DIVIDEND SURPRISE

BT also pleased investors by tripling the total dividend to 6.5 pence, and Verwaayen said the payout could improve further in the future. But analysts say this depends on whether Moody's improves BT's debt rating, and early signs were not good.

"The absolute size of the pension deficit under FRS17 does cause us some concern and it's definitely an overhang on the rating," Moody's telecoms credit analyst Aidan Fisher said.

But BT's 2011 bonds GB012368488= improved, with the yield tightening four points to 131 basis points over government debt.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's affirmed BT's A- long-term and A-2 short-term corporate credit ratings following the company's results.

Karen Robertson, fund manager at Standard Life Investments, praised the results but wondered about the potential impact of leading British retailers, such as Tesco TSCO.L and Carphone Warehouse CPW.L , entering the market for home phone services.

"They still make the bulk of their profits from the core business, and they're facing competitive pressures," she said.

But Verwaayen, forced to abandon ambitious revenue targets last year, sought to answer the concerns by pointing to falling cancellation numbers and emphasising BT's focus on profits.

"We are not looking for revenue growth, we are looking for profitable growth," he told reporters on a conference call.

One such "profit engine" is broadband, and BT is on the brink of hitting a mid-2003 goal of one million high-speed Internet connections. As of May 16, BT had 936,000 broadband users through its own and other Internet service providers.

BT's net debt fell to 9.6 billion pounds from 13.7 billion last year, hitting another target of sub-10 billion pound debts.

The pension deficit under FRS17, which takes a snapshot view, was lower than analysts had expected. Illustrating the volatility of the measure, BT said the FRS17 position as of May 16 showed a lower deficit of 5.7 billion pounds.

As for persistent rumours about BT buying back mobile offspring mmO2 OOM.L , Verwaayen repeated his belief in simply buying in services that can be packaged for clients.

"You don't need to own the mobile operator to be able to bundle for your customers," he said. (Additional reporting by William Kemble-Diaz and Alex Clelland)

Broadband and debt make BT a long distance call Questor in The Telegraph

Ben Verwaayen must have been feeling like Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man of late. Just like Laurence Olivier's Nazi dentist, torturing Hoffman over the whereabouts of a stolen jewel stash, the City has had one question for Verwaayen concerning BT's pension fund gap: "Is it safe?"

Yesterday, after much teeth-pulling, the City finally extracted its answer: "It is safe." BT's annual cash contributions to the fund will rise by only 32m to 232m, far less than the 100m increase predicted by analysts. Thank goodness for that, replied the analysts and sent the shares up 3.5 to 188.5p.



It wasn't just the pension fund that pleased investors, underlying profits jumped 44pc, helping the company to pull off a big dividend hike, way ahead of forecasts but still well below the payout you got three years ago. Turnover growth remained sluggish but cost cutting helped earnings to keep racing away.

Questions remain about when the cost cuts will run out of steam and whether BT can get enough growth from new areas like broadband and long contracts with multinationals to counter inevitable decline in its core home phone market. Hungry competitors like Carphone Warehouse are joining the recapitalised cable companies on the edge of its patch.

Also, with all the excess cash BT is generating, Mr Verwaayen could afford to get more aggressive about the dividend policy. Whether he will seems to depend on whether credit rating agency Moody's gives BT back its A credit rating. Such a move would save BT 30m a year in interest payments but don't bet on it changing its stance soon.

All of these doubts are factored into the share price. At this level BT is trading at just 12 times forecast earnings and yielding almost 4pc. Buy for the long term.

Broadband and debt make BT a long distance call | Ups and downs of Man's ascent | Scots & Southern a defensive play



Ups and downs of Man's ascent

Being one of the more mysterious financial beasts around, hedge funds are usually not high on small investors' lists. Hedge funds generally take high-risk bets on financial markets and therefore tend to be volatile investments.

The share price performance of Man Group, the UK's only listed hedge fund manager, is no exception, having fluctuated between 800p and 1400p over the past two years. But the performance of Man Group's businesses, at least by yesterday's full-year results, has been exemplary.

An investment in Man Group shares is not a direct investment in a hedge fund. Man Group makes profits from fees it collects for managing its hedge funds and from its brokerage arm.

Both business streams performed strongly last year. Management fees rose 54pc to 181.1m, and performance fees, which Man charges for good investment performance, rose 108pc to 115m. Man's brokerage business also delivered a 26pc rise in operating profits.

This enabled the business to deliver a 54pc rise in pre-tax profit of 296.9m and a 25pc higher dividend of 23.2p, yielding 2pc. The market liked the result, pushing the shares 6.2pc higher to 11.85.

The good result, however, does not reduce any of the risk involved in buying shares in the company. Man Group's success has come from building up the funds it manages, on which it charges a management fee and, if it performs, a performance fee.

With a greater share of investment capital increasingly moving to hedge funds, Man Group appears well positioned to grow its funds under management (FUM).

But, the FUM growth will be dependent on how well its investments perform. Investors will take their money away if they don't see returns.

Man Group is trading on a multiple of 17 times its prospective, which for a company growing its pace, is probably fair. However, the risks remain high and investors who don't like volatility should think carefully.

May 24, 2003

Whitbread adds internet to clubs
By Dominic Walsh



WHITBREAD, the leisure group behind Travel Inn and TGI Fridays, has signed a deal with BT to install internet caf at its David Lloyd racquets and fitness clubs.
After successful trials at its clubs in Bristol, Renfrew, Newcastle and Solihull, the group has decided to make broadband internet access available free to members of all 54 of its UK David Lloyd sites.

Roger Cunningham, David Lloyds director of IT, said the pilot sites had seen a tremendous response from members, ranging from children doing their homework before tennis classes and students studying after a workout to members looking for holidays.

Stewart Miller, managing director of David Lloyd, said the move was an attempt to increase the chains competitive advantage over its rivals. He said: Its all about giving people more reasons to join our clubs and more reasons to stay with us, which is why our membership retention rates, at 76 per cent, are so far ahead of the industry average.

The introduction of internet caf, which is to be completed by the end of August, comes after the installation of broadband internet access at several of Whitbreads Costa Coffee shops in Central London, again in partnership with BT.

David Lloyd Leisure has more than 310,000 members and claims to teach tennis to 8,000 children a week on its 530 courts. It has only one club outside the UK, in Dublin, but has just started construction on a site in Brussels. At its recent financial results, it indicated that it was seeking a Spanish partner as a first step towards exporting the brand to the Continent.

Whitbreads shares, which have risen from 459p since January on the back of a resilient trading performance, fell by 7p to 621p yesterday.

followers give the thumbs up to its 2002/2003 full year numbers -- which contained positive news on earnings, the dividend, medium-term targets for both cash and debt and its pension deficit, dealers said. Earlier, BT reported a 44% jump in year to March profit before tax, goodwill amortisation and exceptional items to 1.829 bln stg on increased group turnover of 18.727 bln stg. The profits came in right at the top end of the forecast range. But the real cheer was saved for BT's full year dividend payout -- which was hiked to 6.5 pence a share, well ahead of even the most bullish estimates. And there was positive news too on targets, with BT running well ahead of schedule in meeting 13 out of the 14 targets for both cash generation and net debt set out at the beginning of the year. Net debt at year-end was 9.6 bln stg, down 3.3 bln stg from the prior year.

Brokers were also impressed by BT's more optimistic take on its pension fund -- which has been a real bugbear to the market in recent months.

Merrill Lynch, which repeated its 'buy' advice, said BT's results were strong relative to its expectations, the outcome of the pension review was favourable, and the the dividend was way ahead of its forecast. And it was impressed by BT's free cash flow generation, which came in at an impressive 1.7 bln stg in the year -- well ahead of the broker's own 1.2 bln stg estimate. Merrill Lynch was also upbeat on what it described as the "favourable outcome" to BT's triennial review of the pension fund. It said the actuaries have determined a funding deficit of 2.1 bln stg -- which is below its own forecast of 2.5-3 bln stg. And it was positive on BT's decision to make cash cash payments associated with the pension fund deficit of 232m a year for the next 15 years -- especially as it had expected BT to make a 350m annual payment over just 10 years.

As a result of all of these factors, Merrill Lynch said it is hiking its 2004-2006 EPS forecasts for BT by 2-4 pct, and upping its forecast FCF by 28% in 2004 and 11% in 2005. And, on an even more positive tack, it suggested that BT could "adopt a more aggressive dividend policy " going forward.

Nomura -- a buyer of BT -- also waxed lyrical on the stock's attractions. It too was impressed by the pension news, and the healthy hike in the dividend -- which came in well ahead of its own expectations. And it praised both its revenue growth, which, though not stellar, came in ahead of forecasts.

Nomura, like Merrill Lynch, also suggested that there is room for BT to adopt a more aggressive dividend policy going forward. "We believe BT has delivered both operationally and in respect of the increased dividend. Clarity on the pension funding situation should now ease one of the major concerns dogging the stock. BT is one of the few stocks in the European telecom sector that we consider to be fundamentally undervalued," the broker concluded.

But Goldman Sachs was slightly more sceptical, still rating BT as no more than an 'in-line' at current level. Though it acknowledged that BT's revenue and earnings growth came in well ahead of the market, it was critical of its decision not to change its current dividend policy of raising pay-out to 50% of earnings. "This might be a disappointment to some and we will be looking for comments from the CEO on future plans for excess cash," it said. And it was not that assuaged by BT's pension news, fearing that this issue is likely to continue to rumble in the background.

Business Profile: Broadband Ben S Telegraph
(Filed: 25/05/2003)


BT's boss Ben Verwaayen is pinning his hopes on high-speed internet access and pooh-poohs a 6bn pensions deficit thrown up by the new FRS17 rule. Sophie Barker meets him

Are some peeps cry babies or are they cry babies ...




May 25, 2003

Rivals lash regulator over failure to ban BT's spoiling tactics
Paul Durman S TIMES


NINETEEN telecoms companies, including leading firms such as Cable & Wireless, Centrica and Energis, have made a joint protest to the industry regulator over its failure to stop BTs latest attempts to frustrate the introduction of competition.
The dispute arises from BTs efforts to thwart customers who seek to switch to rival telecoms suppliers.

A technical innovation has recently opened up the market, and is attracting competition from leading retailers such as Tesco, J Sainsbury, Comet and Carphone Warehouse.

The telecoms companies are concerned that Oftel has not prohibited BT from attempting to save customers who have already decided to defect. When BT is notified that customers wish to change supplier, it is free to contact them and try to persuade them to change their minds.

According to its rivals, BT is managing to hold on to about a quarter of the customers who initially opt for a cheaper alternative. This increases customer acquisition costs and consequently cuts profitability in an industry where margins are already wafer thin.

In their joint industry response, the telecoms companies criticise Oftel for its failure to recognise or address the fundamentally anti-competitive nature of save activity by a dominant incumbent and its inappropriateness in an immature CPS (carrier pre-selection) market.

CPS is the regulatory innovation that is allowing customers to switch telecoms suppliers without the need for prefix codes or auto-dialling boxes.

The companies point out that save activity is not permitted in any other European Union country that has introduced CPS.

The full list of signatories includes Colt, Global Crossing, Kingston Communications, McI, NTL, Reach Telecom, Tesco and Thus.

It also includes Broadsystem Ventures (BVL), a company owned by News International, the media group that owns The Sunday Times. BVL provides the Sky Talk service and also runs promotions through The Sun newspaper.

this looks like a cost saver


BT has asked telcom regulator Oftel to set up an industry fund to pay for some of its unprofitable services, reports the Independent on Sunday. It argues that it is time for rival operators to pay for the upkeep of services required under the government's Universal Service Obligation, such as public payphones. Bill Allan, chief executive of Thus, is quoted as saying it's "a good idea" in principle.

130P coming soon I said so over the other place

it happened once and will again

do not say you were not warned

agree rightly...should be their week...my target remains from the overdue breakout at 1.90/2 onwards to 2.20...the opening will be interesting..

mm02 is another to watch in my opinion.

jules.

Any further thoughts on BT.A with this coming Thursday in mind?

looks like BT is breaking down through the 1.80-2.00 trading range. 165-170 good me on the cards if it breaks down.The revenue growth was worse than exopected yesterday,so i think its going down.

Only two per cent down. They are tied by goverment as to how far low they can cut costs because of their hold on the fixed line market, which new companies like Carphone Wharehouse can take advantage off. However if they get their pricing right on Broadband then they will still have a major advantage.
There is a call for them to be treated as a utility, which I do not think is strickly valid. They are well of their highs and increasing dividends and more share buy backs, coupled with strong cash flow and debt repayments make them in my opion,[oversold last week], a very good company medium to long term.

Do you have pics of Buzzby on your wall's mate!!!

Why do want to sell some?

BTA purchased 4,880,000 @ 173.28