Financial details
BT plans to invest around £1.5 billion in total on the programme, of which around £1 billion is incremental to BT’s existing expenditure plans for fibre deployment.BT expects its initial investment in the programme will result in around £100 million of incremental capital expenditure in each of the 2008/09 and 2009/10 financial years, taking the total expected capital expenditure in those years to around £3.2 billion and £3.1 billion, respectively. The remaining incremental spend of £800 million will be spread over the following three financial years.
Given the strategic priority of this planned investment, the Board has decided it would be appropriate to suspend the current share buyback programme with effect from July 31, 2008. By that date BT will have returned in excess of £1.8 billion of the planned £2.5 billion buyback programme.
The Board of BT remains committed to the dividend and expects to grow dividends per share in the 2008/09 financial year.
