LEX A lumbering supertanker turns but slowly. Thursday brought fresh evidence that Ian Livingston, chief executive of BT, has put the UK’s former telephone monopoly on the right heading. BT’s shares reached their highest level in a year after the telecoms group reported stronger than expected cash flow, lifted its guidance and announced a new slate of cost-savings targets.
Mr Livingston deserves plaudits for steering BT through one of the most trying periods since its privatisation 25 years ago. Several quarters of painful writedowns and a hard look at toxic contracts appear to have stemmed the bleeding at BT’s Global Services data networking division, which dragged the company to its second-ever full-year loss in the 12 months to March. Efforts to squeeze out costs are running ahead of schedule, although much work remains to be done: BT cut £932m of operating costs and capital expenditure in the first half, against a full-year target of £1bn. Now Mr Livingston wants to cut out £1.5bn by fiscal year-end.
