News
Canadian operator upgrades full-year outlook, including increasing capex plan for fibre, 4G investment.
Telus posted growth in earnings and revenues in the most recent quarter as its customer base grew and costs fell.
The Canadian operator reported operating revenues of C$3.15 billion (€2.16 billion) for the three months to the end of June, up by 1.5% on the same period a year earlier, as it added customers at both its fixed and mobile businesses, and benefited from higher data revenue.
Q2 EBITDA rose by 10.1% year-on-year to C$1.19 billion, while adjusted EBITDA, excluding gains from spectrum transactions, real estate ventures and restructuring costs, increased by 4.3%.
Operating expenses, before depreciation and amortisation, declined by 3.1% to C$1.96 billion.
Reported net profit rose by 22% to C$416 million.
The telco said its total mobile customer base grew by 0.9% over the year-ago quarter to 8.4 million, including 7.4 million postpaid subscribers, up 2.1%.
Its high-speed Internet connections grew by 6.4% to 1.6 million, while its TV customers exceeded the 1 million mark, up 7.9%.
Quarterly net adds included 61,000 postpaid mobile customers, 18,000 high-speed Internet customers and 13,000 TV customers. The firm reported fixed-line and prepaid customer losses though.
"Our second quarter results are reflective of our team’s commitment to delivering growth, driving our efficiency and effectiveness initiatives, as well as continually putting our customers first," said Telus CFO Doug French, in a statement.
"As we deliver on these key priorities, we also remain firmly committed to maintaining our balance sheet strength during this unique investment cycle, where we are making the critical network investments that are essential to driving customer satisfaction, delivering balanced long-term growth, and supporting our shareholder friendly initiatives," French added.
Indeed, Telus increased its capex forecast for the full year, driven by the need to spend on its fibre network rollout and 4G infrastructure.
It puts capex for the year at C$2.85 billion, up from a previous forecast of C$2.65 billion.
The operator also upgraded other areas of its 2016 outlook.
It upped the bottom end of its revenue forecast by C$25 million and now expects to generate turnover of C$12.775 billion-C$12.875 billion this year, which equates to a growth range of 2.2%-3%. The extra revenue will come from the wireline space, where Telus has again increased the lower end of its forecast by C$25 million.
The wireless space is driving a more optimistic EBITDA outlook though. The operator has added C$25 million to the lower end of its consolidated EBITDA – excluding restructuring and other costs – forecast, giving a new range of C$4.65 billion-C$4.755 billion.
