MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. CEO Louis Audet has long said his company would get into wireless if, and only if, it made economic sense for him and Cogeco shareholders.
That means he’s always wanted to do it profitably – which of course meant he was never going to sink hundreds of millions of dollars into overbuilding wireless infrastructure in the company’s Southern Ontario and Southern Quebec footprint, or beyond. “We like to eat our cake and still have it… that’s our philosophy,” Audet told financial analysts this morning on a conference call discussing the company’s third quarter results.
Regulations had to…
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MONTREAL – Third quarter revenues at Cogeco Inc. rose by 11.6% to $669 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 (ended May 31st) while adjusted earnings rose 12.1% compared to Q3 2017 to $297 million – thanks in large part to a U.S. acquisition completed in the beginning of the calendar year, the company announced Wednesday evening.
Free cash flow increased by 5.3% to $115.5 million, compared to the prior year’s quarter.
Revenue was driven by growth of 15% in the Communications segment as result of the January 2018 acquisition of Harron Communications, cablesystems…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Communications added to its spectrum holdings in Ontario this week after buying ten spectrum licences in the 2500 MHz paired spectrum band from Kian Telecom for $8 million.
The licenses cover a population of over 1.5 million residents in non-metropolitan areas scattered across Eastern and Southern Ontario.
Innovation, Science & Economic Development (ISED) approved the licence transfer on Thursday after determining that the move would “not result in a significant change in spectrum concentration in the licence areas.”
“This acquisition marks another step in a disciplined approach to providing wireless services to our customers,” said Cogeco’s SVP strategy and…
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Richard Lachance named special advisor at Cogeco Inc.
MONTREAL – Michel Lorrain will succeed Richard Lachance as president of Cogeco Media effective September 1st, the company said Tuesday.
On the same date, Lachance will become special advisor at Cogeco Inc. where he will oversee the integration of the 10 RNC Média regional radio stations that the company acquired in April, though that deal is still awaiting CRTC approval.
Lorrain (pictured) has been with the Cogeco for 11 years, most recently as EVP of Cogeco Media, a role he has held since last July.
“The appointment of Michel Lorrain as President of Cogeco…
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OTTAWA – On Friday afternoon the federal government announced six companies won spectrum in the most recent wireless auction held to sell off residual blocks not claimed in prior auctions.
Blocks in the 700 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz and PCS G-bands were auctioned for a total of $43.4 million.
Click here for the licenses won and regions they are located.
“Approximately 94 percent of the allocated spectrum licences went to regional providers and small companies,” said the press release from Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada. Ecotel, Cogeco, Xplornet, Iris, Freedom and Telus…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications today announced Philippe Jetté will become president and CEO of both public companies effective September 1st, 2018. Current CEO Louis Audet, who has been in the role for 25 years, recommended Jetté and on that day, Audet will become executive chairman of the board.
The companies are publicly traded, but the Audet family owns control of the voting shares.
Jetté (pictured at left with Audet at the press conference Tuesday), an electrical engineer by training, joined Cogeco as senior vice-president and chief technology and strategy officer in 2011, after running his own consultancy for a…
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BALA, Ont. – According to a report in a local news outlet in Muskoka, Cogeco Connexion is cancelling its TV services in and around Bala, Ont. as of June 5, 2018.
Customers there and in seven other surrounding villages have been notified by the company that it is pulling out of the region – one which it provides only an analog cable TV service to about 120 subscribers.
Bala is about 25 kilometres northwest of Gravenhurst, Ont.
A company spokesperson told Cartt.ca that this is a business decision where it made more sense to leave the…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. is buying 10 regional radio stations in Quebec and Ontario for $18.5 million from RNC Média.
Cogeco Media already owns and operates 13 radio stations, including talk network stations 98.5 FM in Montreal, 106.9 FM in Mauricie, 107.7 FM in Estrie and 104.7 FM in Outaouais; Rhythm FM network stations 105.7 in Montreal, 100.1 in Mauricie and 93.7 in Estrie, CIME 103.9 in the Laurentians, 96.9 CKOI, The Beat 92.5 and Radio Circulation 730 AM in Montreal, as well as FM93 and M102.9 in Quebec City.
The new stations are located in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (Planète 104.5 in…
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MetroCast acquisition “progressing according to plan”
MONTREAL – Cogeco Communications said that deferred income taxes related to U.S. tax reforms helped to power a jump in profits for its second quarter ended February 28, 2018.
Profits of $141.8 million, of which $138.9 million was attributable to the owners of the Corporation, skyrocketed 84.9% from the $76.7 million posted in the comparable period of fiscal 2017. The company said late Thursday that this was mainly as a result of the $89 million (US$70 million) reduction in deferred income taxes related to the recent U.S. tax reform and the improvement of adjusted EBITDA,…
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MONTREAL – ATW Tech subsidiary VuduMobile Inc. has renewed its agreement with Régie d’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) for its cloud-based text messaging communication solutions related to the new governmental program Rendez-Vous Santé Québec serving family medical clinics in Quebec.
The agreement was renewed for one year, through June 30, 2019, with no changes to the amount, terms and conditions, the company said in a news release.
VuduMobile also announced the addition of the Montreal radio station 98.5 FM to its agreement with Cogeco Media, plus the renewal of that agreement for an additional three years. Listeners of…
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