TELUS 2012 Q3: 116K New Postpaid Customers; 7.6M Total Wireless Subscribers

TELUS has reported their Q3 2012 results and in regards to wireless subscribers, the quarter added 116,000 new postpaid customers bringing their total wireless base to 7.56 million, up 5 percent compared to the year ago quarter.

Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO:

“We attracted 116,000 new postpaid wireless customers, 42,000 new TV customers, and 26,000 new high-speed Internet customers and encouragingly we saw those customers continuing to stay with us longer, as evidenced by our industry leading 1.44 per cent wireless churn rate. This strong performance translated this quarter into double-digit data revenue growth, eight per cent earnings per share growth and 23 per cent free cash flow growth.”

Here are some highlights from the report:

  • External wireless revenues increased by $104 million or 7.4 per cent to $1.5 billion in the third quarter of 2012, compared to the same period a year ago. 
  • Data revenue increased by $102 million or 23 per cent to $546 million. Data ARPU increased by $3.61 or 17 per cent to $24.51. Due primarily to increased smartphone adoption   
  • Blended ARPU increased by $0.90 or 1.5 per cent to $61.42 as 17 per cent data ARPU growth more than offset a 6.8 per cent voice ARPU decline. This is the eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year blended ARPU growth.
  • LTE network launched in 50 new communities across the country; now covers 60 per cent of the Canadian population
  • Bob McFarlane, executive vice-president and chief financial officer is retiring effective at the end of the year after an extraordinarily successful 12 years at TELUS (started during the Clearnet acquisition in 2000)

Here are the total wireless numbers in Canada as of 2012 Q3 from the ‘Big 3’:

  • Rogers: 9,432,000
  • Bell: 7,576,027
  • TELUS: 7,560,000

Just yesterday, our wireless carriers and the CWTA agreed to launch a new stolen cellphone database to protect customers.

Which wireless carrier are you with?

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