The group, which said last month that CEO Gavin Patterson would step down after he lost the faith of shareholders, said it was making positive progress in its turnaround plan. Its core earnings had dropped 2 percent in the previous financial year.

Underlying revenue fell 2 percent in the first quarter, in line with market expectations.

Patterson, who announced 13,000 jobs cuts in May in an overhaul that left investors cold, said the group had made a good start to its new financial year.

"We are making positive progress against our strategy," he said on Friday.

"Our customer experience metrics continue to improve and we have seen the successful launch of new converged products including BT Plus."

BT has not yet appointed Patterson's successor.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)