TORONTO – Sales of the Apple iPhone helped to boost Rogers’ second quarter earnings by 24%.
Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, rose to $347 million, compared to $301 million in the same period last year, while consolidated revenue grew 3% to reach $2.9 billion.
The wireless division added 148,000 new monthly customers, up by 6% from last year, and activated more than 315,000 smart phone devices during the quarter, predominantly iPhone 3G, BlackBerry and Android devices.
Basic cable, digital cable, Internet, and home phone service subscriber growth all continued to slow from the previous year, which the company said reflected the worsening economic recession and unemployment levels in Ontario where 90% of its cable market is concentrated.
Increasing levels of “product maturity” also contributed to slowing subscriber growth with cable Internet subscriber penetration at 69% of basic cable customers, digital penetration at 70% of basic cable households, and residential voice-over-cable telephony penetration at 38% of basic cable subscribers.
"Whereas we had slower growth on our top line due to sustained recessionary economic pressures and the increasing maturation of certain of our services, we were successful during the second quarter in reducing costs, returning increasing amounts of cash to shareholders and further enhancing the quality of our balance sheet," said president and CEO Nadir Mohamed, in the press release announcing the results. "Most importantly, at the same time we have continued to invest in key growth areas and deliver innovative products and increased value to customers."
Revenue at the company’s media division was $366 million, a drop of 11% from the $409 million reported last year. Declines in its television, radio and publishing divisions were due primarily to the weak advertising market, though the decreases were partially offset by an increase in subscriber revenue at Rogers Sportsnet.
The company also announced that it will purchase for cancellation 900,000 of its outstanding Class B Non-Voting shares, or approximately 0.18% of the Class B shares outstanding at June 30, 2009. This is pursuant to a private agreement between Rogers and an arm’s-length third party seller for an aggregate purchase price of $24.28 million.
