MONTREAL – “Our wireless, wireline and media operating segments all contributed to our strong financial performance as we welcomed more than 181,000 net new wireless, Internet and IPTV subscribers to Bell in the quarter and approximately 743,000 for the year, a 5% increase over 2018,” said Mirko Bibic, Bell Canada’s president and CEO in announcing the company’s fourth quarter and year-end financial results today.
“Bell gained more net new wireless subscribers in 2019 than in any year since 2005. As we enter the exciting next generation of mobile connectivity, it bears emphasizing that we need a regulatory environment that encourages the ongoing significant capital investment and speedy deployment of wireless spectrum necessary to enable Canada to also lead the way in 5G,” added Bibic in the company’s press release.
Bell today officially announced its first 5G network equipment supplier is with Nokia. Bell has been testing the vendor’s technology of late.
“Bell is ready to deliver initial 5G service in urban centres across Canada as next-generation smartphones come to market in 2020, and will continue to enhance 5G access speeds, capacity and coverage as additional 5G wireless spectrum, including in the 3.5 GHz band, becomes available this year through the federal government’s spectrum auction process,” adds the press release.
The company’s operating revenue in Q4, ended December 31, 2019, was $6.3 billion, up 1.6% compared to Q4 2018, led by top-line growth at Bell Wireless and Bell Media that drove 0.9% higher service revenue to $5.28 billion. Bell Wireline revenue was stable year over year. Product revenue grew 5.7% to $1 billion, due mainly to increased wireless transaction volumes and a greater sales mix of higher-value smartphones, reads the press release.
For full-year 2019, BCE operating revenue increased 2.1% over 2018 to $23.9 billion.
In Q4, BCE reported 123,582 net new wireless customers (121,599 postpaid and 1,983 prepaid); 35,639 net new retail Internet customers; 22,039 net new IPTV customers; a net loss of 21,618 retail satellite TV customers; and a net loss of 58,110 retail residential NAS lines, reads the release.
BCE wireless and retail Internet, TV and residential NAS connections totaled 18,983,510 at the end of 2019, up 1.3% over 2018. The total includes 9,957,962 wireless customers, up 3.6% (including 9,159,940 postpaid customers, an increase of 3.7%, and 798,022 prepaid customers, up 2.3%); 3,555,601 retail Internet subscribers, up 4.3%; 2,772,464 retail TV subscribers, up 0.2% (including 1,767,182 IPTV customers, an increase of 5.5%, and 1,005,282 retail satellite TV customers, down 7.8%); and 2,697,483 retail residential NAS lines, down 8.9%.
As for the company’s outlook for 2020, Bell is predicting revenue growth of 1-3%, EBITDA growth of 5-7%, capital intensity of 16.5% and free cash flow growth of 7-12%.
For the full release, please click here.
