BT posted a "satisfactory" performance in the three months to the end of June today as the troubled group announced a £12 billion sterling fall in debt.
The telecoms giant has embarked on a major fundraising exercise since its debt mountain peaked at £28 billion in March. BT said the figure was now down to £17.5 billion as it updated investors on its performance today with a flat set of first-quarter earnings figures.
BT Wireless achieved earnings of £64 million, with BT Cellnet's contribution of £166 million - an increase of 34 per cent - offsetting the negative impact of the division's newer businesses.
German mobile phone business Viag Interkom, Dutch-based equivalent Telfort and its Internet portal, Genie, all contributed losses.
The improvement at BT Cellnet came as it attracted 300,000 extra customers in the quarter to leave it with 10.9 million active customers.
But today's figures highlighted continuing problems at Concert, BT's joint venture with America's AT&T.
The business, which offers international telephony to multinationals, landed BT with a loss of £81 million during the quarter, compared with a profit of £60 million a year earlier.
PA