MONTREAL – Pierre Karl Peladeau is stepping down as CEO of Quebecor Inc. to become the vice-chair of the company, and as well as chair of Quebecor Media Inc. and TVA Group. Robert Depatie, current Videotron president, will take over as CEO of Quebecor Inc.
Peladeau will be taking over the QMI chair position from current chair Serge Gouin, and will continue to oversee the strategic files of the company his father Pierre Peladeau founded. Gouin, who has been chair of QMI since its creation in 1999, has announced he will be retiring.
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| Robert Depatie |
| Manon Brouilette |
While Depatie will continue his position as CEO of Videotron in addition to his new post at Quebecor, the cable and wireless division’s operations will now be headed by Manon Brouillette, who has been promoted from her position as president of consumer market to president and COO.
Jeff Fan, telecom and media analyst for Scotia Capital, said Depatie is well regarded by the investment community. “He has done a great job as the CEO of Videotron. Even though the risk of him leaving for the Rogers CEO job was remote, we believe this eliminates that possibility.” Depatie now faces the task of improving the bottom line for QMI, where performance and returns have been relatively weak compared to the rest of the company, said Fan.
Following the November 2011 transaction between Quebecor and the Caisse de depot et de placement du Quebec, QMI's shareholders also agreed to appoint Normand Provost, executive vice-president, private equity at the Caisse de depot et de placement du Quebec, and Michel Lavigne, formerly a director of QMI, to the board of directors of Quebecor Inc.
Quebecor’s corporate management changes, announced today, will take effect at its annual shareholders meeting, to be held in Montreal on May 8 2013.
Quebecor revenues up 3.5% in 2012
The company also announced its fourth quarter and full-year 2012 financial results today, reporting $4.35 billion in revenue in 2012, up $145.2 million from the previous year. The increase was attributed to the 8.4% revenue growth in the company’s telecommunications segment. Operating income also increased 4.6% in 2012 to $1.4 billion.
Quebecor-owned Videotron saw its revenues increase in all its service categories: internet access (up $74.3 million or 10.6%), cable television ($66.7 million or 6.6%), mobile telephony ($58.9 million or 52.3%), and cable telephony ($18.2 million or 4.2%). The company has added 402,600 subscriber connections to its mobile telephony service since it was launched in September 2010.
