BT today said the proportion of new broadband customers using its own service hit an eight-year high in the final three months of last year as profits at the telecoms giant exceeded half a billion pounds.

BT said 356,000 customers were added by companies using BT’s network, such as Sky or Talk Talk, in the three months to December 31, up on the 253,000 gained in the previous quarter.

The firm said 53% - or 188,000 - of these new additions connected using BT’s own broadband service, the highest proportion since 2003.

The group’s broadband television service BT Vision added 40,000 customers in the quarter, compared to 24,000 additions in the previous three months. This brought the total to 545,000.

The figures came as BT posted a 30% increase in pre-tax profits to £530 million in the three months to December 31.