Mr Verwaayen, who has been credited with reviving the telecoms group in his six years at the helm, said BT finished the year "in style" with a strong fourth quarter, including at its division providing IT and telecoms services.

The 56-year-old Dutchman is due to make way for BT Retail boss Ian Livingston at the end of this month. However, his final set of results were well received in the City, with BT shares up 1 per cent after fourth quarter revenues of £5.42bn came in ahead of market expectations. Around 42 per cent of sales came from new wave revenues, such as broadband and IT services for major corporations.

The company said BT Retail remained the UK's biggest retail broadband provider with a customer base of 4.4 million at the end of March.

BT Retail's revenues increased by 2 per cent to £2.16bn, the third successive quarter of growth. That was despite a 4 per cent fall in revenues at its consumer business unit, reflecting lower calls income following the introduction of packages offering free weekend and evening calls.

BT described the consumer market for telecoms services in the UK as "one of the lowest priced, most competitive markets" in the world. However, it said it was "competing vigorously" through its various call packages.

The company said the roll-out of its next generation television service, BT Vision, accelerated during the quarter, with customers reaching 214,000.

BT Wholesale, which provides network services for more than 600 fixed-line and mobile operators, saw total revenues decline 12 per cent to £1.18bn in the quarter.

This was partly due to a reduction in broadband revenues as a result of price cuts and volume decreases as firms switch to their own lines.

Revenues from BT Global Services – the company's corporate IT arm – increased by 10 per cent year on year, the highest quarterly growth for more than two years. Outside the UK, the division accelerated revenues growth to 28 per cent.

In his last results presentation, Mr Verwaayen said the company "had finished the year in style". He added: "It has been a fantastic privilege to work with so many great people over the past six and a half years. I am extremely proud of what they have achieved and I believe BT has a great future."