CALGARY — Shaw Communications reported a dip in revenue and net income for the quarter that ended on November 30, possibly one of its final quarterly reports before being acquired by Rogers Communications.
The Calgary-based company reported a 1.2% decrease in revenue for its fiscal first quarter of 2023, to $1.37 billion, a decline in net income by 14.3% ($28 million) to $168 million, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declining 2.5% — all compared to the same period the previous year. Part of its pared down net income was due to transaction-related costs.
The telecom added a total of 13,778 new wireless customers, 12,300 of which were prepaid customers, compared to a gain of 55,582 year-over-year. Postpaid new subscribers made up the rest, 1,500, which Shaw said was due to lower Shaw Mobile activity over the year, as well as higher churn and increased competitive intensity. Its postpaid churn — the measure of its loss of subscribers — increased to 1.89% in the quarter.
Total postpaid and prepaid subscribers sit at 1.830 million and 459,000, respectively, for a total wireless base of 2.290 million by the end of the quarter.
Wireless service revenues increased 5.4% due to subscriber growth, but that was offset by a 1.0% dip in its average revenue per user to $36.58.
Losses in consumer wireline were 52,819 in the period, compared to a loss of 76,244 in the same period last year, for a total consumer subscriber base of 4.113 million. The company noted that in October 2022, it launched Shaw Stream, a video service that allows Shaw’s Fibre+ subscribers to access streaming apps, including Disney+, in one place on their TV. Total wireline losses in the quarter, including business, were 49,516 compared to 78,098 in the same period last year, for a total wireline base of 4.758 million.
Wireline revenues and EBITDA decreased 2.7% and 5.3% to $1 billion and $496 million, respectively.
Shaw and Rogers have set the deadline for their merger on January 31, 2023, pending an appeal in the Federal Court of Appeal by the Competition Bureau, which said the Competition Tribunal made a mistake in its evaluation of the deal before it dismissed its challenge. That hearing will be held on January 24.
During the hearing, Shaw’s counsel had argued that the company is in no position to compete on its own, pitching a prospective parent in Rogers as the only viable option for the company.
