MONTREAL – “Strong numbers” at Videotron helped to push up fourth quarter revenues and profits at Quebecor, the company said Wednesday.
Consolidated revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2018 grew 2.6% ($27.6 million) to $1.09 billion year-over-year. Revenues increased in Telecommunications ($24.4 million or 2.9% of segment revenues) and in Sports and Entertainment ($3.2 million or 6.4%), though dropped in Media ($1.5 million or ‑0.8%).
Net income attributable to shareholders was $116.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared with $70.4 million in the same period of 2017, a favourable variance of $46.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased 7.7% ($32 million) to $450.0 million.
Quebecor’s Videotron telecom segment significantly increased its revenues from mobile telephony ($64.6 million or 13.8%), Internet access ($48.4 million or 4.7%) and the Club illico over‑the‑top video service ($7.3 million or 18.4%) in 2018. In the fourth quarter it added 34,400 revenue-generating units (0.6%), including 33,100 connections (3.0%) to its mobile telephony service, 7,000 subscriptions to its cable Internet access service (0.4%) and 17,900 memberships in Club illico (4.4%).
2018 revenues at Quebecor were $4.18 billion, up 1.4% from 2017, and adjusted EBITDA of $1.73 billion was a 7.1% lift over the same period last year. Net income attributable to shareholders grew $11.0 million to $401.5 million, up from $390.5 million in 2017, while adjusted income from continuing operating activities was $468.1 million, an increase of 34.6%.
President and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau said that the company’s solid fourth quarter results “cap what was an excellent year in many respects.”
"Quebecor also achieved a major milestone in its history in 2018 by completing the repurchase of all the shares of its Quebecor Media subsidiary held by CDP Capital, its leading financial partner since the acquisition of Groupe Vidéotron ltée in 2000,” he said in a statement. “With this share repurchase, we now have access to all the cash flows generated by Quebecor Media, giving us full control over our assets, our development and our future.”
Quebecor’s complete Q4 2018 financial results are available here.
