BT cash earnings down 11% in FY17

In a statement, BT said looking at the underlying performance of the business, cash earnings had stayed “relatively flat” at $863 million despite higher insurance claims and margin compression.

However, the group noted that “performance was also impacted by an unusually large number of infrequent items” totalling $129 million, $83 million of which was for “customer payments to address previously flagged legacy remediation”.

After these expenses, BT Financial Group reported $771 million in cash earnings, an 11 per cent decrease on the prior corresponding period.

BT chief executive Brad Cooper said the group was “operating in a challenging environment” but was happy with the underlying performance.

“This result shows the business is in good shape. We maintained our number one market share position on all retail platforms, saw strong FUA growth on Panorama, continued insurance premium growth and a further strengthening of our Private Wealth business,” he said.

“At the same time as we have dealt with a number of issues, we have also made significant investments in digitalisation and simplification, which will be key in resetting the business for stronger future performance.”