MONTREAL – While the Quebecor Inc. continues to have difficulty with its huge printing operation, its media division, especially cable company Videotron, remains strong as the MSO continues to show positive subscriber gains, along with revenue and income increases.
Quebecor Media posted revenues of $650.9 million in the third quarter of 2005, ended September 30th, an increase of 10.3% compared with the same period of 2004. All business segments without exception reported revenue increases. Operating income rose by 3.4% to $175.4 million.
Year-to-date, Quebecor Media’s revenue has increased by 10.2%, to $1.95 billion, and its operating income rose by 5.5% to $520.2 million.
On the cable side, revenues increased by 13.3% to $250.8 million and operating income by 5.9% to $95 million in the third quarter, due primarily to customer growth and the improved profitability of Videotron’s services thanks to rate increases.
Videotron’s illico Digital TV added 43,700 customers from July to September the largest quarterly increase since the service was launched in February 1999. The combined customer base for all cable television services grew by 28,600, the largest quarterly net growth in five years. Videotron added 39,700 high speed Internet customers, again “the largest quarterly increase” since the service was launched in 1998.
On the telephony front, the residential IP telephone service has recruited 96,000 customers since it was launched, including 54,200 in the third quarter of 2005 alone, meaning by now, the company is well over the 100,000 mark.
Videotron’s net monthly ARPU (average revenue per user) was $52.55, an increase of 11.7% in comparison with the third quarter of 2004. Free cash flow from operations amounted to $35 million, compared with $57.5 million in 2004. The big decrease was mainly due to an increase in additions to property, plant and equipment as a result of investments in the network, otherwise known as success-based capex.
Both the company’s newspaper and broadcast divisions fared well, too, although TVA Group had its challenges, as reported by www.cartt.ca this week.
