MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc.'s revenue remained essentially the same at $583.1 million in the first quarter of its fiscal year, ended November 30th 2016, compared to $582.9 million in Q1 2015, the company said in a release Wednesday evening.
Adjusted EBITDA increased by 2.4%, to reach $261.3 million compared to the same period of fiscal 2016 as a result of the improvement in its Communications segment.
Profit for the period amounted to $82 million, compared to $66.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2016. The increase is mainly due to the improvement of adjusted EBITDA combined with the decrease in depreciation and amortization, says the release.
Free cash flow reached $109.3 million compared to $40.9 million, an increase of $68.4 million compared to the same quarter of the prior year mainly due to lower acquisitions of property, plant and equipment, intangible and other assets as a result of the timing of certain initiatives combined with a greater focus on capital expenditure optimization in its Communication segment. The improvement of adjusted EBITDA also contributed to the increase in free cash flow.
"We are quite satisfied with the overall results for Cogeco Inc. in this first quarter of our fiscal year 2017," said Louis Audet, president and CEO, in the release. "In our communications subsidiary, Cogeco Communications Inc., we are very pleased with the results of Cogeco Connexion, given the high level of competition in the Canadian broadband market and the maturity of this industry. The business continues to maintain tight control on costs and has once again reported results that are in line with expectations."
"Our American broadband services business, Atlantic Broadband, continues to show a solid performance with strong organic growth," he added. "We are very satisfied with results so far in fiscal 2017 and see potential for further growth, particularly in the Connecticut and Florida markets."
"At Cogeco Peer 1, our Business ICT services business, we have a solid senior leadership management team and a new go-to- market strategy in place," continued Audet. "While market conditions are changing faster than ever before, we continue to focus on bringing more relevant solutions to market and cross-selling our services, positioning ourselves as a trusted advisor offering the whole breadth of relevant enterprise services. In addition, we have generated meaningful free cash flow reflecting our focus on optimizing our asset base."
"As for our radio subsidiary, Cogeco Media, we continue to maintain our leadership position in the Québec radio market, thanks to strong audience ratings and a solid financial performance," added Audet, in the release. "We are performing according to plan and I am very proud of the team's excellent work in this sector."
