Despite owning spectrum licences in other provinces, Quebecor isn’t ready to expand its services to the rest of the country, the company has suggested in a press release announcing its quarterly earnings. Quebecor has reported a net income of $71.2 million, revenue of $960.9 million (up 7.6%, or $67.9 million) compared to the same period a year ago.
As for its telecommunications arm of the business, the company reported an adjusted income of $66.5 million, a notable $10.6 million increase compared to a year ago. Videotron posted a $29.9 million increase in revenue, up 44.2% from 2014, with an average revenue per user (ARPU) of $47.03. That closely watched metric is up 13.5% or $5.69 compared to the same period last year. Total ARPU from all of Videotron’s services was $133.71 in the second quarter of 2015.
During the past quarter, Videotron added 40,800 wireless subscribers, and its subscriber base surpassed the 700,000 mark.
With the AWS-3 licences that we acquired earlier this year and the 700 MHz spectrum licences we acquired in 2014, the Telecommunications segment is now well equipped to develop its Québec network in the coming years. As for the licences we have acquired outside Québec, at this point, we need to maximize the return on those investments, which were made at a very advantageous price and for which various options are available to us. We will hold to a prudent, disciplined approach in order to maximize returns while minimizing risk, particularly in light of Quebecor’s numerous projects currently in the development stage,” said Pierre Dion, President and CEO of Quebecor.
In the last year and a half, Quebecor has been busy acquiring wireless spectrum at government auctions: In May, it spent $187 million on 2500 MHz spectrum licences. At this moment, it remains an open question whether it acquired those for their resale value or other purposes.
