It’s earnings season, and the list of incumbents is closed by Telus, which reported its third-quarter earnings today: The carrier says wireless network revenue is up 4.9% year-over-year to $1.7 billion, as well as wireline revenue (up 2.3% to $1.4 billion) pushing consolidated operating revenue up 2.6% to $3.2 billion in the quarter compared to a year earlier. Still, net income was lower than a year ago: the carrier reported $355 million in profits, down 2.7% compared to $365 million in Q3 2015.
Telus’ profit has been hit by high spending: The carrier is shelling out money to upgrade and expand its wireless and wireline networks. Telus’ operating expenses bill reached $5.6 billion in the first nine months of 2016.
“TELUS’ third quarter results reflect the company’s strong and disciplined performance across both our wireless and wireline operations,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO. “Our team once again delivered industry-leading results in wireless customer loyalty, ARPU growth and lifetime-revenue, as well as strong consolidated and segmented revenue and EBITDA growth. Importantly, these results are underpinned by a highly dedicated TELUS team that is committed to consistently providing exceptional customer experiences.”
During the three months ending September, Telus added 87,000 net postpaid wireless subscribers. That compares to the 114,000 Rogers and 107,000 Bell reported for the same period.
Still, blended ARPU, a key metric in the wireless industry, was higher by 3.8% at $66.67, meaning that Telus continued its grow for the twenty-fourth consecutive quarter year-over-year. Of course, the growth has been driven by data network revenue.
