Rogers Reports Competitive Smartphone Market in Third-Quarter Results

Roger’s latest quarterly report notes that they “activated and upgraded approximately 609,000 smartphones” that were “predominantly iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices.”

It’s not all good news, as the report goes on to note that Rogers added 74,000 new subscribers to its post-paid operations, which is a significant drop from 108,000 added in the previous quarter. The third quarter is considered a busy back-to-school period when students set up new phone plans.

The drop in total post-paid subscribers is said to be caused  by “heightened competitive intensity.” Rogers, Telus, and Bell Canada are competing with each other and with new wireless carriers Wind Mobile, Mobilicity, Public Mobile and Quebecor’s Videotron for mobile customers.

Highlights from the report:

• Subscriber base increased by 166,000, taking them to a total subscriber base of 9,288,000.
• ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) was $61.79 in Q3, falling $2.59 from last year, which is good for us customers.
• 52 per cent of Rogers’ customers now have smartphones.
• 74,000 lucrative new subscribers were added to their post-paid operations
• Wireless data revenue increased by approximately 28%
• Wireless data revenue now comprise 36% of Wireless network revenue.
• Net income at $491 million amounted to 87 cents per share, up from the $380 million reported a year earlier.

Nadir Mohamed, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rogers Communications Inc:

“Rogers delivered a balanced set of financial and subscriber results in the third quarter, with continued growth in the face of an extremely competitive environment. The strength of our asset mix, combined with a focused execution on our priorities – wireless data growth, customer retention and managing our cost structure – enabled Rogers to generate continued strong margins and free cash flow while increasing the amount of cash returned to shareholders by double digits year-over-year.”

Shares in Rogers were up seven cents to $35.59 in afternoon trading Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

[Canadian Business]