EE results
Mobile network EE, which BT has agreed to buy for £12bn, suffered a decline in operating revenue in the first quarter despite being “firmly on track” to reach its target of adding new 4G customers by the end of the year.
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Britain's largest mobile operator, which is jointly owned by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom and France’s Orange, said it added 1.7m customers onto its 4G service in the first quarter, a threefold rise in a year with 96% of new customers now opting for the faster 4G service, taking it current total to 9.3m out of its 24.5m direct mobile customers.
However this could not prevent direct sales falling 1.1% to £1.469m, following the 1.4% decline in revenue in 2014.
Telecoms company BT recently confirmed its cash and shares offer of £12.5bn for the network, which will create the largest communications company in UK.
BT will finance it partly by a £1bn share issue with EE's current owners Deutsche Telekom and Orange keeping stakes of 12% and 4% in BT.
The deal is subject to approval from shareholders and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and is expected to complete before March 2016.
BT expects operating savings and synergies of around £360m a year in the fourth year after the deal completes. Current EE customers will be offered BT services including broadband, fixed line and pay-TV services.
BT CEO Gavin Patterson said: "This is a very exciting time and a new chapter for BT."