BT saw £7bn ($9bn), or over a fifth of the company’s value, wiped off shares on Tuesday as the full extent of the accounting scandal at the Italian section of the business became apparent. The company said it would take an additional £1.5bn charge to cover costs related to its “internal investigations” and that it expected to report full-year results in early 2016. At the time, BT predicted that the overall cost to its business would be £145m. It has now revised that figure to £530m. It may also seek to claw back payments given to senior Italian executives, a number of whom were initially suspended and have now left the business. The announcement, combined with warnings of a slowdown in other operations, resulted in the collapse of share prices.
BT saw £7bn ($9bn), or over a fifth of the company’s value, wiped off shares on Tuesday as the full extent of the accounting scandal at the Italian section of the business became apparent. The company said it would take an additional £1.5bn charge to cover costs related to its “internal investigations” and that it expected to report full-year results in early 2016. At the time, BT predicted that the overall cost to its business would be £145m. It has now revised that figure to £530m. The announcement, combined with warnings of a slowdown in other operations, resulted in the collapse of share prices.