Vidéotron’s parent-company Quebecor announced their Q4 and 2013 year-end results today and the Quebec-based carrier posted impressive results. “Despite strong competition,” Videotron ended 2013 with a total of 503,000 wireless subscribers with increased revenues of $49.1 million (28.6%) compared to last year.
Manon Brouillette, Videotron’s President and COO, said that “Videotron registered another stand-out performance in 2013. Revenues and revenue-generating units were up for the eleventh consecutive year, despite very competitive market conditions. Videotron’s revenues grew 4.4% to $2.71 billion and its adjusted operating income rose 6.7% to a record $1.28 billion. Average monthly revenue per user (“ARPU”) increased $6.46 (5.8%) to $118.03 in 2013. The results demonstrate Videotron’s ability to adapt effectively to the business environment, to approach product development and marketing with constantly renewed creativity, to stringently control its operating costs and to place the quality of the customer experience above all else at all times.”
Highlighted in the report was the recent 700 MHz spectrum auction and how they paid $233.3 million to secure licences in Québec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Videotron noted that “Quebecor Media could not let pass this opportunity” and winning this valuable spectrum allows them to “reach approximately 80% of Canada’s population, more than 28 million people.” Unfortunately, there is still no word on what their plans are: “While no decision has yet been made on how to use the spectrum, various options for maximizing the value of our investment are now available to us.”
Finally, another interesting stat was about Club illico, its $9.99/month Netflix-like unlimited on-demand video service. By the end of 2013, Club illico had about 60,000 subscribers and “logged more than 11.0 million orders since its inception.”
As expected, there was not a hint of Mobilicity in the report. It’s rumoured that Videotron has made an offer to purchase Mobilicity’s spectrum and 175,000 subscribers for an estimated $200 million.
Source: MarketWired
