BT have taken a £145 million hit following the uncovering of “accounting areas” in their Italian division.
The company have found instances of “inappropriate management behaviour” following an internal investigation into BT Italia division.
The irregularities were found following the appointment of external advisers to assist with assessing the extent of the issue. BT noted that their inquiry uncovered “certain historical accounting errors” and that it had “ressessed certain areas of management judgment” as a result.
Whilst the company stated that the activity had not impacted upon its reported earnings, the stipulated charge of £145 million was deemed “our current best estimate of the financial impact based on our internal investigation. The writedown relates to balances that have built up over a number of years.”
The telecoms company also added that Brexit and its destablising effect upon the pound may impact financial progress. However, the company board emphasised that the impact is unlikely to br substantial in the long-term.
“While the future nature of Britain’s trading relationship with the EU and globally is currently uncertain, the board does not expect the result of the referendum to have a significant impact on our outlook … We continue to monitor the longer term impact of the UK’s decision to exit the EU.”
BT Sport noted that average audience figures rose by 1 percent, excluding its freeview channels and digital channels and in spite of the competition encountered from the Rio Olympics coverage.
“We are benefiting from our new Saturday early evening slot for Premier League matches, with better viewing figures,” BT said.
According to the latest reported figures, total revenues for the group increased by 35 percent to £6 billion in the three months to the end of September. In addition, pre-tax profits remained unaffected exhibiting a rise of 5 percent in the quarter to £671 million. However, these figures notably do not take into account the company’s recent £12.5 billion acquisition of the mobile network EE, which was completed in January.
