Rogers today announced its 2020 first quarter earnings, while also held its annual general meeting, where CEO Joe Natale penned an open letter to customers and shareholders.
The first fiscal quarter for Rogers saw 257,000 postpaid wireless additions, a 38% decrease year-over-year, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Total postpaid wireless users now stand at 9.432 million. The company added 141,000 prepaid wireless additions, seeing a 30% decline compared to the year-ago quarter. Total prepaid wireless users are now at 1.336 million.
Total revenue for Rogers was at $3.4 billion, a 5% decline compared to the year-ago quarter, while net income was at $352 million, a 10% decrease compared to the same period in 2019.
Rogers says it is “withdrawing 2020 financial guidance given uncertainty associated with the impacts of COVID-19; continued strong free cash flow remains a priority in 2020.”
As for home internet usage, Natale revealed during his AGM letter usage was up over 50% on the average day.
“Canadians are doing their part to stay home to limit the impact of COVID-19. And we’re working hard to do our part to ensure their new usage needs are being met. Throughout the average day, home Internet usage is up over 50%,” said Natale.
“We have seen as much growth in a few weeks, as we would normally see in two years. Our teams have been working around the clock to add and manage capacity to meet this rapidly changing demand,” added the CEO.
Rogers, along with other internet service providers, have waived home internet data overages until June 30, 2020, as millions of Canadians stay home due to coronavirus pandemic.
