REGINA – Provincial Crown Corp SaskTel today reported 2014 net income of $76.4 million from operating revenues of $1.231 billion.
While the revenue number was an increase of $25.3 million over 2013, income fell by 15% over the prior year. The increase in revenues is a result of continued growth in wireless ($10.6 million, 40% lower than last year’s revenue growth figure), maxTV, Internet and data ($20.7 million, which is 24% higher than 2013’s growth in that segment).
The government’s press release said the growth is due to increased data consumption “from the advent of more advanced technologies offering higher speeds and capacity as well as increased penetration of smartphones, tablets and fibre deployment.”
“SaskTel's net income has fallen over the last three years as we make the necessary capital investments to shift the company from being a traditional telephone company to an information technology and communications company based on the new technologies that are displacing the old digital telephone technology," SaskTel President and CEO Ron Styles said in the release.
"At present, approximately 50% of our revenues come from technologies, products, and services that we did not have in the market at the start of 2010 and this shift will continue over the next several years with a return to higher net income levels likely to occur later in the decade. Industry trends together with a dramatically different regulatory environment will continue to negatively impact SaskTel's operations in the short term.
“SaskTel continues to employ strong cost management and containment strategies to offset the impacts so that the company can remain successful and a vital contributor to Saskatchewan's economic growth.”
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