BT finalises Discovery sports tie-up

LONDON : BT, Britain's biggest broadband and mobile operator, said it had finalised the deal to combine its sports broadcasting unit with Discovery Inc, as it met expectations with a 2 per cent rise in core earnings for the year to end-March.

The company, which announced the Discovery tie-up in February, also reconfirmed its outlook for the current year, when it expects core earnings to rise to at least 7.9 billion pounds ($9.6 billion) from 7.6 billion pounds reported on Thursday.

BT reported a 2 per cent dip in revenue to 20.9 billion pounds, reflecting declines in its Enterprise and Global units, in part offset by growth in its Openreach division, which is upgrading its network to fibre.

The consumer division, which will increasingly focus on the group's EE mobile brand, returned to growth in the fourth quarter, it said.

"While the economic outlook remains challenging, we're continuing to invest for the future and I am confident that BT Group is on the right track," Chief Executive Philip Jansen said.

($1 = 0.8199 pounds)