Telstra has cut its dividend after the telecommunications provider's first-half profit fell almost 5 per cent to $1.7 billion. Revenue from ordinary activities for the six months to December 31 rose 0.8 per cent to $12.91 billion but net profit slipped 4.9 per cent on a previously announced writedown of US streaming business Ooyala. The telecommunications provider earlier this month warned it would write down the value of video tech firm Ooyala, which it took control of in 2014, to zero and book an impairment charge of $273 million against goodwill and other non-current assets. Telstra built its stake in Ooyala to 98 per cent between 2012 and 2016, but in 2016 was forced to write down its investment by $246 million due to what it said at the time were changing market dynamics. On Thursday, the company also announced a cut to its interim dividend to a fully franked 11¢, down from 15.5¢ a year ago. Telstra in August flagged a change to its dividend policy in order to fund spending on battling new competitors.