HALIFAX – Bell Aliant’s FibreOP TV and internet service added almost 30,000 net new customers in the second quarter of 2013, helping to increase operating revenues by $4 million.
The regional telco reported revenues of $692 million, an increase of 0.6% million compared to the same period in 2012.
Revenues for Bell Alliant’s IPTV, Internet, and wireless business segments each grew by $12 million, $9 million, and $1 million, respectively.
The growth in TV, Internet, other data, wireless, and other revenues was, however, offset by declines in local and long distance revenues. Local service and long distance revenues declined $13 million (4.2%) and $9 million (10.1 %), respectively, in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same quarter in 2012.
The added costs for TV content, marketing and customer support for a growing FibreOP customer base saw operating costs for the quarter grow by $7 million. As a result, EBITDA in the second quarter of 2013 declined by 1% or $3 million to $327 million compared to the same quarter in 2012.
Bell Aliant’s net profit for the second quarter was at $67 million, down $8 million from the second quarter of 2012. Bell Aliant said some of the decrease was due to an early redemption penalty on long-term debt refinanced in June 2013, which will result in lower interest costs going forward.
Bell Aliant passed an additional 45,000 premises with FTTH in the second quarter of 2013, compared to 58,000 incremental premises in the second quarter of 2012. Total FTTH coverage reached 725,000 premises at the end of June 2013. FibreOP penetration of premises passed exceeded 20 per cent at the end of June 2013.
“Our second quarter results demonstrated further success in improving the financial trajectory of our business,” said Karen Sheriff, president and CEO of Bell Aliant, in a release. “We continued to expand our FTTH coverage area and added more FibreOP customers, strengthening our company for the future. We reached a key milestone in the second quarter with more than 20 per cent of the premises in our FTTH coverage area now subscribing to FibreOP.”
