BT delivers on cost-savings target ahead of time, shares surge

"Further to weekend press speculation, BT confirms that it has delivered on its £1bn of gross annualised cost savings 18 months ahead of the March 2023 target," it said.

The one line statement followed a report over the weekend suggesting the company would assert this week that the cost-cutting programme was ahead of schedule.

The Sunday Telegraph had said BT was likely to hail the progress of its modernisation programme on Thursday, alongside its third quarter update.

At 1050 GMT, the shares were up 6.3% at 147.60p.

Last week, Sky News reported that BT had moved to strengthen its defences against a possible takeover bid by French billionaire and Altice owner Patrick Drahi by hiring advisory firm Robey Warshaw.

Sky said the advisory firm had been formally appointed by BT in recent weeks to work alongside Goldman Sachs. The move comes shortly before a 10 December threshold that will release Altice from a binding commitment not to launch a takeover bid for BT. Altice bought a 12% stake in BT in June for £2.2bn.

Sky cited city sources as saying that BT's board was engaged in a range of scenario planning exercises including Altice lodging a formal takeover offer or demanding that it spins off either its consumer division, which includes mobile network EE, or its Openreach broadband infrastructure arm.