LONDON (Reuters] – Britain’s BT has confirmed its outlook for next year after reporting a 3% drop in revenue in the first half to 10.3 billion Pounds ($14.07 Billion). This was driven by a decrease in services to multinational corporations and a flat performance among consumers.

After bolstering its defenses against potential takeover attempts by Patrick Drahi (largest shareholder), the company reported core earnings of 3.75 Billion Pounds, an increase of 1% due to tight cost control.

The company also provided an estimate of long-term free cash flow after it has built its bulk fibre network. This gives investors a clue of what to expect.

Philip Jansen, chief executive of BT, stated that the Openreach network unit has rolled out fibre broadband to nearly 6 million homes and continues to reduce its construction costs.

He said, “Looking farther out, as our fibre-build peak is passed and we move toward an all-fibre network with all-IP, we anticipate a reduction of capex of at minimum 1 billion pounds and lower operational costs of 500 millions pounds.”

This would mean a rise in cash flow to the tune of 1.5 billion pounds per decade, he stated.

Franco-Israeli telecoms tycoon Drahi purchased a 12.1% share in BT in June. Drahi stated that he had no intention to offer a takeover, which would have been illegal under UK law for six months.

Next month, the pledge is up.

BT hired Robey Warshaw as a boutique advisor firm in defense of a potential takeover. It also announced Monday that it achieved its goal to save 1 billion pounds 18 months before schedule.

($1 = 0.7323 pounds)