Woodford and peers get lift as BT shares jump

BT provided an extra boost to a number of popular income portfolios today after its latest jump in profitability sent shares in the group to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard.

BT - which is a core holding for income funds including Neil Woodford's Invesco Perpetual Income and High Income funds, as well as SLI's UK Equity Income Unconstrained fund - saw shares climb over 4% in early trading after its third quarter results were announced. Profits climbed 7% to £675m, the group said, thanks predominantly to cost-cutting. Its broadband customer base also grew sharply, although revenues fell 6% overall to £4.5bn. The results lifted BT up 4.5% to 260p by mid-morning. From its low point last summer, the group's shares have now risen 30%. This will have provided...