When the stock market falls out of love with a company, it can be hard to rekindle affection. At 159p, down 10p, yesterday, BT shares are signalling that, after mixed annual results, investors are staring at a glass half-empty rather than half-full.
The shares have been on a tortured run since they surrendered their £11.73 peak in December 1999. The price is back to pre-pandemic levels but still far from the 496p of five years ago. For optimists that shows potential, but pessimists will wonder what lies around the corner.
Revenue for the year to March 31 was down 7 per cent, primarily due to Covid-19, legacy product declines and divestments, partly offset by higher equipment revenue and Openreach bases in fibre and Ethernet.
Profit
