MONTREAL – Quebecor Media Inc. reported Tuesday an 82 per cent rise in third quarter net income, largely on the strength of a big quarterly increase in cable customer sign-ups and the acquisition of Osprey Media newspapers.
Newspaper and broadcasting segments also showed improvements, as the company reported a 16% increase in revenues from the third quarter of 2006 and an almost 30% increase in operating income.
"The strong performance was spearheaded by the cable segment, which once again posted substantial increases in the customer base for its cable telephone, Internet access and digital cable television services,” Quebecor Inc. President and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau said in a statement.
“Considering the outstanding performance of Quebecor Media in the third quarter, in fact the best ever for Quebecor Media in a third quarter, and a favourable outlook, the Board of Directors of Quebecor Media decided to increase the annual dividend payable to Quebecor Media’s shareholders, in order to be comparable to the industry, taking into account Quebecor Media’s financial profile,” Péladeau said.
Quebecor Media’s revenues reached $834.6 million in the third quarter of 2007, up $116.0 million from the third quarter of 2006. Operating income rose $58.4 million to $253.6 million, and net income increased by $38.2 million to $84.8 million.
The cable segment added 70,100 cable telephone customers, the largest quarterly increase, in absolute numbers, since the service was launched in the first quarter of 2005.
Quarterly customer growth for the cable segment’s other services: 45,000 for cable Internet access, 31,700 for all cable television services combined (including a 41,200 customer increase for illico Digital TV), and 8,000 for wireless telephone service.
Quebecor Media, a corporation in which Quebecor Inc. and CDP Capital d’Amerique Investissements Inc. own 54.72% and 45.28% respectively, owns cable and Internet provider Videotron Ltd., newspapers across the country, TVA Group Inc., Internet portal Canoe Inc., technology and communications agency Nurun Inc., and assorted other companies in publishing and cultural product distribution.
