Following Rogers and Bell, Telus is the last of the Big 3 to report its first-quarter earnings: The carrier reported consolidated operating revenue of $3.1 billion, up 2.6% compared to the same period a year ago, driven by continued data revenue growth both in wireless and wireline operations. For the first three months of the year, Telus posted a net profit of $378 million, down 9.1% from last year’s $415 million due to higher restructuring and other costs.
In the first quarter of 2016, Telus’ wireless revenue increased by $38 million (2.5%) to $1.6 billion compared to the same period a year ago, driven by an 8.3% jump in data revenue due to growth of its subscriber base and a greater proportion of two-year plans.
It has added only 8,000 net postpaid subscribers (lower by 29,000 compared to the same period last year) due to the economic slowdown, particularly in Alberta. As of the end of March, Telus has a total of 8,387,000 wireless subscribers, an increase of 2.4% compared to the same quarter a year ago.
Blended ARPU (average revenue per user) is up 1.2% to $63.08, marking Telus’ twenty-second consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.
The press release also notes that Telus has reached an agreement with Bell Canada to acquire approximately one third of MTS’ postpaid wireless customers.
The quarterly earnings report also includes another acquisition announcement: Baring Private Equity Asia will acquire 35% stake in Telus International, its international call-centre, valuing Telus International at $1.2 billion. The money that flows into the company through this acquisition will be used to expand its fibre-optic and wireless networks to more communities.
