British telecoms firm BT : profits jump 14 percent

British telecoms company BT said on Thursday that quarterly net profits rose 14 percent on the back of deep cost-cutting, and its share price surged after the group ramped up the dividend. Earnings after tax jumped to £564 million ($911 million, 702 million euros) in the group's second quarter, or three months to September. That compared with £494 million in the same part of the previous financial year. Pre-tax profits rose nine percent to £602 million but revenues fell two percent to £4.474 billion, BT added in a results statement. BT also decided to ramp up its interim shareholder dividend by 15 percent to 3.0 pence per share. The solid results and dividend news sent BT shares rallying 6.78 percent to 226.91 pence, topping the FTSE 100 index of leading companies, which was 0.77 percent higher at 5,827.52 points in early afternoon deals. "We have delivered another solid quarter of growth in profit before tax despite the economic conditions and regulatory impacts," said chief executive Ian Livingston in comments accompanying the earnings release.