Telecom giant BT sees profits leap by 24%

The telecom giant's results showsed ts best revenue growth for more than seven years Credit: PA

BT has seen pre-tax profits surge by nearly a quarter, fueled by strong growth in its consumer business.

The results come as the company announced a shake-up of its business structure following its takeover of mobile operator EE, but said it would retain the brand.

BT's results were ahead of expectations, with reported pre-tax profits up 24% to £862 million in the third quarter to December 31 2015.

It also recorded its best revenue growth for more than seven years - up 3% to £4.5 billion over the same period.

It came as the group announced a shake-up of the structure of the business following its takeover of mobile operator EE, but said jobs would not be impacted in the short term.

Chief executive Gavin Patterson said the third quarter revealed a "strong set of results with good numbers across the board".

He added that BT's consumer business had seen "a stand-out quarter, increasing its overall line base for the first time in well over a decade and capturing 71% of new broadband customers".

BT's merger with EE was approved by the competition watchdog last month.