MONTREAL – Second-quarter revenue at Cogeco Inc. increased 3.6%, to reach $536.9 million while revenue for the first six-month period ended February rose 3.8%, to reach $1.08 billion.
The growth in the quarter and half ended February 28th was mainly driven by the cable and enterprise data services segment as well as the favorable foreign exchange rates.
Adjusted EBITDA increased by 3.3%, to $229.1 million compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2014, and by 3.9%, to $463.1 million in first six months of the year. Q2 profit was $55 million, compared to $58.5 million for the same period in fiscal 2014. The decline there is mainly attributable to the increases in depreciation and amortization, financial expense and income taxes, partly offset by the improvement in adjusted EBITDA, reads the company’s press release, sent out early Wednesday evening.
Second-quarter free cash flow decreased by $22.5 million to $68.9 million compared to Q2 2014, mainly as a result of the increase in acquisitions of property, plant and equipment of $22.3 million.
The corporation revised its consolidated projections for the 2015 fiscal year and management expects revenue to increase by $10 million to reach approximately $2.2 billion, adjusted EBITDA by $8 million to reach $953 million and free cash flow by $10 million to reach $290 million as a result of the appreciation of the US dollar and British Pound compared to the Canadian dollar, reads the press release.
"We are satisfied with our financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2015," said Louis Audet, president and CEO, in the release. "We continue to maintain a rigorous cost control discipline in how we leverage our spending while continuing to seize on growth opportunities."
"In the Cable and Enterprise data services segment, we are pleased with the improvements in our cable customer acquisition and retention numbers in Canada and the United States, and the Enterprise data services sector is now poised to take better advantage of growth opportunities," he continued. "Meanwhile, despite an industry-wide slowdown in advertising sales which has touched Cogeco Diffusion, we are delighted to see our standing as the leader in the Quebec radio market reinforced."
