
VANCOUVER – Thanks largely to being the growth leader in Canadian wireless, Telus saw operating revenue growth of 4.4% in the second quarter of 2014 to $2.95 billion, while EBITDA increased 7.5% to $1.07 billion, compared to the same time frame in 2013. Net income increased by 33% to $381 million.
Consolidated revenue growth was generated by both wireless and wireline operations, with wireless revenue up 6.2% and wireline revenue up 2.4% from a year ago, reads the company’s press release. In wireless, revenue was primarily driven by continued subscriber growth and higher data usage as a result of continued smartphone adoption and the expansion of LTE network coverage. Wireline strength was driven by data revenue growth of 8.7%, generated primarily by an increase in Telus TV and high-speed Internet subscribers as well as increasing revenue per customer.
Telus attracted a total of 80,000 net new customer connections in the quarter, driven by the gain of 78,000 wireless postpaid customers, 23,000 Telus TV subscribers and 15,000 high-speed Internet customers, partially mitigated by the moderating loss of residential access lines and wireless prepaid customers, says the release. The total wireless subscriber base is up 2.2% from a year ago to 7.9 million, high-speed Internet connections are up 5.6% to 1.4 million, and Telus TV subscribers are up 16% to 865,000.
Telus leads the industry in churn, too, with a 13 basis point year-over-year improvement in monthly postpaid wireless subscriber churn to 0.90% – matching a record low set by Telus eight years ago and reflects the fourth consecutive quarter this important metric was below one%. Rogers and Bell’s churn stood at 1.13% and 1.16%, respectively.
Free cash flow of $210 million was higher by 9.4% from a year ago as higher EBITDA and lower defined benefit pension contributions were partially offset by higher capital expenditures (excluding spectrum licences) and income tax payments. Free cash flow when excluding higher income tax payments was $332 million, an increase of 21% year-over-year, says the release.
Telus returned $412 million to shareholders in the second quarter, consisting of $224 million in dividends paid and $188 million in share purchases under its 2014 normal course issuer bid (NCIB) program. Through the end of July, Telus returned $1,090 million to shareholders consisting of $680 million in dividends and the purchase of 10.7 million shares for $410 million under its 2014 NCIB program.
"Putting our customers first continues to differentiate Telus from our peers,” said president and CEO Joe Natale in the release. “Our consistent track record speaks for itself and as a result, more customers are choosing Telus and embracing a network that can reliably support their ever-growing data needs."