Telecoms giant BT has revealed that its pension fund deficit has grown by £3bn during the first quarter of the year, according to a report in The Times.
BT said that the deficit is now £5.8bn, compared to £2.9bn in March, despite the fact that the value of shares and other investments held by the fund has increased.
The slump resulted from BT having to adjust for a higher inflation rate of 3.25 per cent (instead of 2.9 per cent) and a lower discount rate, which is the figure used to calculate the scheme’s liabilities, the paper said.
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The deficit emerged as BT announced that profits in the three months to June had fallen by 45% to £272m.
In May, the company announced 15,000 job cuts after two profit warnings at BT Global Services, which provides telephone and IT services to large organisations.
