Diversified Canadian communications company Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR, SJR-B.TO) Friday reported higher profit for the third quarter, driven by service revenue growth in the Cable and Satellite divisions.
The company's third-quarter net income was C$131.95 million, or C$0.31 per share, higher than C$128.11 million, or C$0.30 per share,reported in the same period last year.
Excluding non-operating items, net income for the quarter would have been C$131 million, compared with C$117 million in the same period last year.
Funds flow from operations increased 14.5% in the third quarter to C$356.05 million from C$310.98 million in the prior-year quarter.
Service revenue reached C$861.38 million, up 8.7% from C$792.15 million a year ago. Service revenue in the Cable division was up 10% to C$670 million, primarily driven by customer growth and rate increases. The Satellite division's service revenue totaled C$192 million, up 4% from the previous year, reflecting rate increases and customer growth.
According to the company, strong subscriber growth continued during the quarter reflecting its brand strength. Basic cable subscribers increased 9,622 to 2,283,526, Digital customers were up 110,810 to 1,187,183, and Internet and Digital Phone lines grew 24,625 to 1,650,959 and 54,633 to 774,009, respectively. In addition, DTH customers increased 1,580 to 898,213 in the quarter.
For the sequentially preceding second quarter, the company's net income was C$156.2 million, down 47.7% from C$298.8 million in the previous year. On a per share basis, earnings plummeted to C$0.36 from C$0.69 last year. Consolidated service revenue rose 10% to C$839.1 million from C$763.2 million a year ago.
For the nine-month period, Shaw Communications reported net income of C$411.25 million, or C$0.95 per share, compared with C$539.18 million, or C$1.24 per share, last year. Excluding non-operating items, net income would have been C$381 million, compared to C$327 million in the year-ago period. Service revenue totaled C$2.52 billion, a 9.5% rise from C$2.3 million in the previous year.
Among others in the sector, BCE, Inc. (BCE, BCE.TO), the parent company of Bell Canada, on May 7 reported a 46.1% rise in its first-quarter net earnings, despite a decline in revenues. The Montreal, Canada-based company's net earnings applicable to common shareholders were C$377 million, compared with C$258 million last year. On a per-share basis, earnings increased 50% to C$0.48 per share from C$0.32 per share in the previous year. Operating revenues were down 0.4% to C$4.34 billion from C$4.40 billion in the prior-year quarter.
SJR is trading at US$17 on the NYSE, up US$0.01, on a volume of 162,816 shares.
SJR-B.TO rose C$0.04 and is trading at C$19.59, on a volume of 183,333 shares.
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