Telus reports $100 million or 10% increase in Q1

TELUS has reported their Q1 2008 financial and it from reading the report it looks like they’ve had wireless growth of $100 million or 10% from a year ago.

TELUS president and CEO Darren Entwistle said, “first quarter results were driven by strong data growth in both the wireless and wireline business segments. This growth and our cash flow enable TELUS to continue returning value to shareholders whilst investing in the long-term success of our company.”

Here are some Q1 2008 wireless highlights:
– External revenues increased by $100 million or 10% to $1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2008, when compared with the same period in 2007

– Wireless data revenue increased $51 million or 53% due to the continued adoption of full function smartphones and increased adoption of data services such as text messaging

– Net subscriber additions were 88,400, representing a slight 2.3% decrease from the same quarter in 2007. Postpaid net additions were 72,400, an increase of 19%, while net prepaid loading decreased 46% to 16,000

– ARPU (average revenue per subscriber unit per month) was relatively stable at $61.88 compared to the same quarter a year ago. The fast-growing data component of $8.72, represented 14% of ARPU while the voice component continued to decline as a result of intense competition

– EBITDA as adjusted of $502 million is an increase of $38 million over the first quarter of 2007, representing 8.3% growth, due to network revenue growth and lower cost of acquisition (COA) expense, partially offset by increased customer retention costs and network and other expenses to support the 10% growth in the wireless subscriber base.

Costs were also incurred for the late March launch of the Koodo brand
– Cost of acquisition per gross addition decreased 27% year-over-year to $319 reflecting lower advertising and promotions cost per unit, a higher proportion of new subscribers from lower cost distribution channels and lower equipment subsidies.

– Blended monthly subscriber churn increased to 1.53% from 1.35% a year ago due to higher prepaid churn and shifting product mix to prepaid, combined with higher deactivations associated with introduction of wireless number portability (WNP) in March 2007.

– Cash flow (EBITDA as adjusted less capital expenditures) increased $85 million or 24% to $438 million in the quarter due to an increase in EBITDA and lower capital spending.

Read the whole report here (PDF)