AGM Statement

BT Group PLC 17 July 2002 July 17, 2002 BT REVIEWS YEAR OF TRANSFORMATION Sir Christopher Bland, chairman of BT Group, today welcomed shareholders to the company's first annual general meeting. Speaking to shareholders at the International Conference Centre in Edinburgh, Sir Christopher said: "That may sound strange, but this is indeed the first AGM for BT Group. This company was formed last year as a result of the demerger which created two new FTSE 100 companies, mmO2 and BT Group. "The last time we were here, in 1997, was an era of expansion in telecoms, the beginning of the internet and mobile boom. That boom was followed by a bust which affected everyone and left many major European telcos with heavy debts and serious strategic challenges. "During the last year we have taken decisive action to stabilise the company. That has been successfully accomplished. And we have embarked on a new course for the future. "It has been a year of transformation. Last March, we had debt approaching £28 billion. We had a major funding gap to address. We had no free cash flow. And we had suspended dividend payments. "We then announced an action plan - and we delivered it within 12 months. We conducted a successful rights issue for £5.9 billion. We carried out a major, £8 billion, disposal programme, including our stakes in Japan and Spain - and Yell. "We unwound the Concert joint venture. We raised £2.4 billion by the sale and leaseback of the majority of our UK property. And we demerged the mmO2 wireless business. The demerger gave you stakes in two substantial European businesses - BT Group and mmO2. "As a result of these measures, we more than halved our net debt, from £27.9 billion to £13.7 billion, going well beyond our debt reduction target of £15 billion." Sir Christopher reminded shareholders that BT had already announced a return to the dividend list as he had last year indicated would be the case. Sir Christopher added: "We announced a final dividend for 2001/2 of two pence per share. Future dividend policy will be to grow dividends progressively, with 40 to 50 per cent of earnings paid out as dividends. This rewards shareholders and retains cash to grow the business and pay down debt." Speaking of the new chief executive, Sir Christopher said: "Ben Verwaayen joined us in February, bringing with him significant telecoms experience and a proven track record in promoting cultural change. He has hit the ground running - and running fast. He has unveiled a new strategic approach for BT, including a bold new broadband strategy. "Following the demerger, BT Group has performed relatively strongly, particularly throughout this calendar year. We have continued to outperform our European peers and have also outperformed the FTSE 100, including during the current turbulence. As of last night, the European Telco Services index had fallen by 43 per cent since the date of our demerger and the FTSE had fallen by 24 per cent. Over the same period, BT had fallen by 16 per cent, a comparatively robust performance. However, any fall is unattractive to shareholders, but we believe that if we continue to manage the company effectively and achieve our goals the share price should eventually respond. "Last year I thanked you for keeping faith with BT. This year, I believe your faith will be vindicated. Thank you for staying with us through the difficult times. We will take every opportunity to repay you for your loyalty in the years ahead." Following Sir Christopher's remarks, chief executive Ben Verwaayen made a short presentation to the shareholders outlining BT's strategic priorities of customer satisfaction, financial discipline, broadband, a new focus for BT Ignite, a clear network strategy, a clear strategy for each customer group and a focus on motivating BT people. Ben Verwaayen said that since the end of June the number of BT exchanges which were broadband enabled had increased to 1,115 compared with 890 at the same time last year, and that the new number of exchanges now covered 73 per cent of internet users. Ben also confirmed that orders per week for broadband were now running at about 12,000 per week and that there were now 280,000 end users connected. ----------------------------------------------- Caution - forward looking statements Certain statements in these presentations are forward-looking and are made in reliance on the safe harbour provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, without limitation, those concerning: dividend policy; revenue, market share, working capital and capital expenditure control, cost cutting, customer satisfaction, earnings per share, cash-flow and debt reduction targets; growth opportunities by BT business, including broadband growth in the UK; broadband customer targets, reductions in costs, and prices for customers, and increased access to broadband. Although BT Group believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. Because these statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause differences between actual results and those implied by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: material adverse changes in economic conditions in the markets served by BT and its lines of business; future regulatory actions and conditions in BT's operating areas, including competition from others in communications markets; selection by BT and its lines of business of the appropriate trading and marketing models for its products and services; technological innovations, including the cost of developing new products and the need to increase expenditures for improving the quality of service; the anticipated benefits and advantages of new technologies not being realised; developments in the convergence of technologies; prolonged adverse weather conditions resulting in a material increase in overtime, staff or other costs; the anticipated benefits and advantages of new technologies, products and services, including broadband, not being realised; the timing of entry and profitability of BT and its lines of business in certain communication markets; significant changes in market shares for BT, its lines of business and its principal products and services; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates; general financial market conditions affecting BT's performance; factors not within BT's control which may affect the ability of BT's lines of business to reduce costs, grow revenue, improve quality and maximise return on capital employed; and the reintegration of Concert. Inquiries about this news release should be made to the BT Group Newsroom on its 24-hour number: 020 7356 5369. From outside the UK, dial + 44 20 7356 5369. All BT Group news releases can be accessed at our web site: www.btplc.com/mediacentre This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange LFFLDBEBBQ

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