BT announced outgoing MTN CEO Rob Shuter as its new Enterprise chief, as the operator reported declines in fiscal Q1 revenue and profit on a drop in takings from businesses and a consumer hit due to a lack of live sport.

During its investor call for the three months to end-June, CEO Philip Jansen said BT had been resilient “in the context of everything going on around us”. Net profit was down 11 per cent year-on-year to £448 million and revenue fell 7 per cent to £5.2 billion.

Its Consumer division, which includes mobile operator EE alongside its residential fixed and broadcast units, was hampered by a fall in sport revenue and closure of retail stores caused by Covid-19 (coronavirus) lockdown measures.

BT added the pandemic would continue to impact the division citing “lower roaming and pay-as-you-go revenue, sport revenue from pubs and clubs, and more price-conscious customers”.

Despite business disruption from the pandemic, Jansen said it was still on-track with previously announced “modernisation programmes”, but had also identified further cost reductions including the introduction of recruitment controls.

He also addressed the UK’s decision to ban Huawei from the country’s 5G networks earlier this month: “Despite the logistical and cost implications, we believe the proposed 2027 end-date provides sufficient scope to make these changes without impacting the resilience of our networks, or the pace and scale of deployment.”

The cost would be within the £500 million estimate made in January, he said.

Appointment
Alongside its results, the company announced Shuter would take the role of BT Enterprise CEO, replacing the retiring Gerry McQuade.

The switch is set to take place before the end of the current financial year (end-March 2021), which fits with the departure timeline previously announced by MTN.

Shuter led the African operator group since 2017 and previously held a number of roles in Vodafone Group’s European businesses.