A big boost in wireless subscribers and data usage has helped Telus increase its second-quarter profits by 33% compared with the same period last year, according to a financial report released Thursday (August 7).
The Vancouver-based telecom giant reported a net income of $381 million during the second quarter of 2014. A year ago, second-quarter profits reached $286 million.
Telus singled out a 2.2% jump in its wireless subscriber base for much of its revenue growth. During the second quarter, the company added 78,000 postpaid wireless customers to its base of 7.8 million clients.
Increased data usage among a growing number of smartphone users also pushed up revenue, according to Telus chief corporate officer Josh Blair.
“Telus is in a unique position globally in respect to our ability to grow both our wireless and our wireline divisions,” he said.
“Data is what’s fuelling that.”
Telus’ overall revenue was up 4.4% to $2.95 billion compared with the same period a year ago, while data revenue growth was up 8.7%.
The company added 23,000 Telus TV customers and 15,000 high-speed Internet customers during the second quarter as well.
Meanwhile, Blair noted 59% of postpaid customers had smartphones two years ago versus 79% in 2014.
“Definitely the usage of smartphones — whether it’s surfing the web, doing email, etc. — and that data is key to our growth,” he said.
In February, Telus paid Ottawa $1.14 billion for licences to Canada’s 700 MHz spectrum that would allow the company to reach out to even more customers in rural areas and provide better coverage for urban subscribers.
The spectrum allows for much stronger signals to be transmitted to wireless customers as it was previously used for analogue TV broadcasts before Canada switched to digital broadcasting three years ago.
Fewer cell towers would need to be built while penetration through buildings is improved significantly.
This is the first quarter Telus has reported financial results since long-time CEO Darren Entwistle stepped down.
Joe Natale, who is based out of Toronto instead of Telus’ Vancouver headquarters, took over as CEO while Entwistle began serving as the company’s first-ever executive chairman.
