A big boost in wireless and wireline data revenue helped push up profits by 10% during Telus’ (TSX:T) first quarter, according to financial results released Thursday (May 7).
The Vancouver-based telecom giant’s net income amounted to $415 million in Q1, up $38 million from a year earlier.
Operating revenue climbed 4.6% to $3 billion, up from the $2.9 billion that came in during last year’s first quarter.
Telus said in its financial statement the company’s big growth came from a 19% jump in wireless data revenue and a 7.2% jump in wireline revenue.
Most of the expanded wireless business came from an additional 37,000 postpaid subscribers, more expensive two-year rate plans and increased data usage coming from smartphones and tablets.
“At this point in time, our customers’ appetite for data is seemingly insatiable,” Telus chief corporate officer Josh Blair told Business in Vancouver, adding data usage among the company’s customers doubles every 18 months.
“That said, I think you always have to look to the future and always have to think about what are the next generation of services that we want to bring out because growth in any given services inevitably flattens out over time.”
And while wireline data has been strong — revenue was also boosted by adding 23,000 Internet subscribers and 21,000 Telus TV customers — Blair said the company has been bolstering divisions focused on outsourcing services, and health care management and services systems.
Overall, Telus reported having 8.3 million wireless subscribers (including subscribers at subsidiary Public Mobile) as of Q1, up 3.1% compared with a year ago.
The company’s wireless subscriber churn rate was at 0.9% during the first quarter, the seventh consecutive quarter it’s remained below 1%.
“As a result, you’re retaining customers in a more significant way and better able to attract new customers,” Blair said.
And for now, it appears Telus is looking to attract more Vancouver customers with free wireless Internet options around the city.
On Tuesday (May 5), Telus announced it was introducing free Wi-Fi on 350 Yellow Cab taxis in Vancouver. The Internet connection will also be available to non-customers once they jump inside a vehicle.
And last week, the City of Vancouver named Telus as its provider for 43 free Wi-Fi spots across the municipality.
Blair said it’s important from a branding perspective to get Telus’ name out there when offering free Wi-Fi.
“It brings a level of satisfaction to our existing clients and secondly, it paints a different light of Telus for our non-customers,” Blair said.
“The brand is an important aspect for a customer making a decision about you but also your reliability in terms of the performance of your network.”
Telus also announced Thursday it’s investing $230 million in new communications infrastructure throughout Vancouver to boost Internet speeds and upgrade wireless sites to 4G LTE.
In March, the telecom firm agreed to pay $1.5 billion for high-speed AWS-3 wireless spectrum across Canada. Telus said in Thursday’s announcement it plans to commence planning how to deploy the spectrum in Vancouver this year.
