MONTREAL – Quebecor’s net income for the first quarter more than doubled, and the company hiked its quarterly dividend 29%, the Montreal-based giant said Thursday.
For the period ended March 31, 2016, net income attributable to shareholders was $69.9 million, up from $29.4 million in the same period of 2015, as a result of growth in all of its business segments.
Quebecor's revenues increased 5% year-over-year to $975.4 million, and adjusted operating income grew 4.6% to $354.7 million. On an adjusted basis, income from continuing operations was jumped 63.5% to $67.7 million from $41.4 million in the same period of 2015.
The company posted revenue increases…
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MONTREAL – Despite an increase in revenues, TVA Group kicked off 2016 in the red and shuttered its Argent business channel after 11 years of operations.
President and CEO Julie Tremblay said Tuesday that the company will continue operating the Argent brand through the company’s TVA Nouvelles newscasts, LCN news and public affairs channel, and digital platforms, but said “turmoil in the media industry is forcing us to constantly question our products and brands with a view to maintaining their profitability”. The French-language business channel ceased operations on April 30.
The Quebecor Media subsidiary posted a net loss attributable to shareholders of $7.4 million…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Telecommunications service providers cannot charge for a service that is not, and cannot be, provided following a cancellation, the CRTC stressed Thursday.
The Commission made the comments after issuing two decisions relating to its prohibition of 30-day cancellation policies, a move designed to make it easier for consumers to switch service providers. In the first decision, the Commission denied a request by Telus to direct Shaw Communications to cease requiring the payment of liquidated damages when small business customers cancel retail local voice or Internet services before service installation work has begun.
Noting that Telus’ focus on a single service…
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TORONTO – BCE’s proposed acquisition of MTS will not only contradict the previous government’s push for four wireless players in every market, it could open the door for further consolidation in the rest of the market.
Canaccord Genuity Corp. analyst Aravinda Galappatthige said approval of the $3.9 billion BCE/MTS deal would “set a significant precedent, as it would reduce Manitoba to a three-player wireless market from four.”
“As a result, we also believe that this would give Shaw a potential exit strategy in wireless should it decide to sell Wind”, he wrote in a client note Monday. “In addition, we…
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MONTREAL – Pierre Karl Péladeau is quitting politics after less than a year on the job, but it remains unclear whether he will return to Quebecor.
Péladeau (pictured) said Monday at a news conference in Montreal that he has officially resigned as head of the Parti Quebecois and will also step down as the PQ MNA for Saint-Jérôme for “family reasons”.
He relinquished his duties at Quebecor in March, 2014 to enter politics but remains the company’s controlling shareholder.
“We take note of his decision to devote himself to his family and extend our friendship and support under the circumstances”, Quebecor said in a…
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GATINEAU – The telecommunications regulator should let market forces and targeted government funding finish the broadband job, according to Quebecor Media. The company told the CRTC on Thursday that it should coordinate efforts on affordability and adoption with the federal government, something other companies have also said during the hearing.
Manon Brouillette, president and CEO of Quebecor’s cable, broadband and wireless division Vidéotron, noted during her opening remarks that private sector efforts along with government programs are showing results. In fact, she said that by 2017, 97% of Canadians will have access to broadband as a result of the Connecting…
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Focus on transport, says Shaw
GATINEAU – The Joint Task Force (JTF) of small incumbent local exchange carriers (SILECs) in Canada offered a rather different option to the CRTC on Tuesday when it comes to ensuring there is broadband to every household in the country.
Rather than a blanket subsidy available for all so-called high cost serving areas, it should only be available in under and unserved communities.
In addition, the subsidy shouldn’t be available on a per exchange basis, but rather on a household or NAS level. If there are two ISPs (i.e. telco and cableco) providing service into a particular…
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Chair's comments change the focus of the hearing, puts government, industry, on notice, to get their acts together
GATINEAU – The the second week of the CRTC's basic service objective (BSO) hearing featured a rare moment of reflection from CRTC chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Blais which will now alter the focus of this hearing. Below are Blais' unedited personal thoughts, made just prior to Monday's lunch break.
Those of you who are familiar with CRTC proceedings will appreciate that it is unusual for Chairs to make formal remarks beyond those made at the beginning of the oral hearing.
But this is an exceptional…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor Media's TVA Group today launched Molto, a new digital newsstand that gives users full, unlimited access to the content of all its magazines on their tablets and smartphones.
"The magazine industry is changing fast," said Lucie Dumas, vice-president group publisher, magazine division, in the company’s press release. "We are launching Molto to stay ahead of consumer adoption of multiple content delivery methods.” It offers readers of magazines such as Canadian Living, 7 Jours, La Semaine, Elle Québec, Elle Canada, and TV Hebdo a 24-hour newsstand for $8.49/month.
Molto is a user-friendly app with a simple, intuitive…
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MONTREAL – Club illico is offering subscribers recent titles from one of the world's largest content producers and distributors thanks to an agreement between NBCUniversal Television & New Media Distribution Canada and Quebecor Content.
The agreement includes the French-language versions of hit movies such as Fast and Furious 6 (Rapides et dangereux 6), Despicable Me 2 (Détestable Moi 2), Kick Ass 2, R.I.P.D, (RIP Département), The Purge (La Purge), The Purge: Anarchy (La Purge 2), A Million Ways to Die in the West (Mille et une façons de mourir dans l'Ouest), 47 Ronin (47 Ronin), Ride Along (Mise à l'épreuve) , Non-Stop (Sans…
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