Telus reports mixed results overall in second quarter

Telus Corp. released its numbers for the second quarter of 2024 on Friday. Operating revenues arising from contracts with customers were $4.9 billion, a 0.7 per cent fall from 2023’s $4.93 billion. Total operating revenues and other income jumped 0.6 per cent to $4.97 billion, up from $4.94 billion. Net income was $221 million. Net income per share increased by 13 per cent with net earnings per share jumping 7.1 per cent. Total operating expenses declined by approximately 1.6 per cent to $4.29 billion from nearly $4.36 billion a year earlier. Capital expenditures were at $691 million, a decrease of 14.4 per cent from the previous year’s $807 million. Zainul Mawji, executive vice president of Telus consumer solutions, was asked on an investors’ call whether there needs to be more balance between pricing and volume. “To be clear, in terms of suggesting are we satisfied with this performance, the clear answer to that would be no,” she stated. “We are not satisfied with the level of performance we’ve seen in this very competitive environment.” Total mobile and fixed customer numbers were at 332,000, an increase of 39,000 over 2023, leading to a record second quarter over other Q2s. Mobile phone adds were 101,000, while connected device additions were at 161,000. Mobile adds were down 8.2 per cent, while connected device adds rose by 29.8 per cent. Postpaid mobile phone churn was 0.89 per cent. Fixed customer net additions were 70,000, which includes 33,000 internet customer additions. The number also includes TV subscriptions and home security services. At the end of Q2, the telecom had approximately $2.5 billion in available liquidity, and its average cost of long-term debt was 4.42 per cent. The average term to maturity of long-term debt is 11 years, and net debt to EBITDA ratio is 3.85 times. ARPU (average revenue per user) was down by $2.07, to $58.49. This represents a decline of 3.4 per cent. “Notwithstanding the competitive pressures, our team is distinctly dissatisfied with our ARPU results and we remain focused on driving a better outcome through multiple levers prospectively,” Telus CEO Darrren Entwistle told the investors call. “We would characterize the quarter as net negative due to notably soft wireless metrics (ARPU down 3.4 per cent, wireless service growth only 0.9 per cent) and a lowered FCF guide ($2.3B to $2.1B),” Aravinda Galappatthige of Canaccord Genuity wrote in a note. “However, profitability was in line, assisted by strong margins, which were in turn helped by the company’s cost reduction initiatives.” Revenues were just below Canaccord’s projections. Telus beat the predictions for wireless revenue, wireline subscriptions, and the health and agriculture divisions. The agriculture and consumer goods division, which provides telecom services to farmers and agribusiness, went up by more than 15 per cent to $12 million. This was tempered by customer churn and a slowdown in subscription growth. At Telus Digital, the former Telus International, revenues from contracts with customers fell by $57 million, a decrease of 7.9 per cent. This was attributed to lower revenues from a social media client and other technology customers. Telus Digital CEO Jeff Puritt is stepping down, becoming vice chair of the board. He is being succeeded by Telus senior vice president of customer service excellence, Jason Macdonnell. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

Telus reports mixed results overall in second quarter

News | | August 2, 2024

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Telus reports mixed results overall in second quarter

News | | August 2, 2024

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