Kcom strike infrastructure deal with BT

KCOM, the company which owns and operates the telecoms network in Hull, will this week announce plans to outsource its national telecoms infrastructure to BT in an attempt to cut costs by about £10m a year.

It is the latest move in new chief executive Bill Halbert's plan to turn around the struggling company, formerly known as Kingston Communications.

Mr Halbert launched a full-scale review of the business when he stepped up from senior independent director to executive deputy chairman last autumn.

The shares which, collapsed to 10.5p in November last year, have rallied significantly in the last two months on expectation of the announcement, on Tuesday, that it will outsource its internet and managed services (IMS) division to BT, in a move that could lead to a demerger. Kcom cut 150 jobs from the IMS division in January.

Other options under consideration include selling the business which operates Hull's telecoms infrastructure, including the city's distinctive cream-coloured phone boxes.

Kcom is expected to report pre-tax profits of about £19.5m, up from £4.42m a year earlier. But revenue is thought to have declined from £517m to about £470m.

The Telegraph, 1st June 2009

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