Two of the country’s biggest phone companies reported quarterly financial results this week, with wireless data revenue giving both a boost.
This morning Telus Corp., the incumbent phone carrier in British Columbia and Alberta with a national wireless network, reported net income of $328 million for Q2, up 1.2 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.
Revenue increased four per cent to $2.7 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes and deductions increased by five per cent.
Wireless data revenue was up 27 per cent, while wireless revenue overall (which includes voice) was up 7 per cent.
Telus said it gained 112,000 postpaid wireless customers.
Vice-president and CFO Robert McFarlane credited the results in part to the company’s spending on its new LTE wireless network, which went live earlier this year, and on Internet data centres.
Winnipeg-based MTS Allstream saw its net earnings drop to $44.5 million on revenue of $431.6 million for the three months ended June 30, compared to net earnings $49.8 million for the same period in 2011.
It was the fifth quarter in a row that revenues have dropped.
Earnings before interest, taxes and other deductions dropped slightly in the second quarter companied to the first quarter, but were up 1.8 per cent compared to Q2 in 2011.
Earnings before deductions in the Allstream division, which runs data networks outside the province, were up 2.8 per cent.
The company was buoyed by wireless data revenue that was up 24 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. Overall wireless revenue was up 3.3 per cent.
Overall, CEO Pierre Blouin said in a statement the company made “excellent progress” on its strategic objectives and are in line with its plans for the year.
“We also welcome the federal government’s legislative amendments, passed during the quarter, which will allow increased foreign investment into smaller Canadian telecommunications providers, including MTS Allstream,” he said.
The Telecommunications Act change allows foreign companies to buy all of a Canadian carrier that has less than 10 per cent of the market.
“Now that we know exactly how the new rules apply, we are assessing how to capitalize on these changes in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders,” Blouin said.