TELECOMS GROUP BT turned a profit in the Republic for the first time in the year to the end of March 2009, according to accounts seen by The Irish Times.

The accounts cover BT’s three main trading entities in Ireland: BT Communications Ireland Group Ltd; BT Net Ireland Ltd (BT Net); and BT Communications Ireland Ltd (BT CIL). When read together, the accounts show a pretax profit of €2.13 million compared to a pretax loss of €21.3 million for the 12 months to the end of March 2008.

Chris Clark, managing director of BT Ireland, said the telecoms group had been focusing on “changing the shape of the business strategically and driving cost out of the business”.

The change in strategic direction was announced in August last year and involved the transfer of BT’s consumer and small-business customers to Vodafone.

As part of a partnership arrangement, BT is to provide Vodafone with wholesale services for a seven-year period.

This business was part of BT CIL but Mr Clark said the deal with Vodafone would enhance revenues and profits for both parties.

BT CIL recorded a pretax loss of €24.4 million for the period in question but this was down from €44.1 million the previous year. This entity employed an average of 904 people during the 2009 financial year.

BT Net, which provides internet services and data hosting, was the most profitable entity in the group. It had pretax earnings of €10.75 million on revenues of €32 million.

BT entered the Irish market in 1999 with the €290 million purchase of Denis O’Brien’s Esat Telecom.

It has subsequently invested more than €1 billion in the Irish market through acquisitions and spending on infrastructure.

The accounts in question related to BT’s business in the Republic even though it operates on an all-Ireland basis.