TELUS reports Q4 2009 results: 122,000 subscribers (18% decrease)

TELUS has released their Q4 2009 results they have had a number of highlights such as launching their HSPA network and making the iPhone available. However with all the good CEO Darren Entwistle (who is not taking a salary this year) stated “There is no question that the last year was a challenging one economically, but also one where we progressed game-changing capital projects and made significant investments in operational efficiency to improve our cost structure”.

So what do the numbers look like? From the report, here’s a summary:
– External revenues increased by $37 million or 3.1% to $1.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008, with equipment sales and other revenue growth of $56 million, which included a full quarter of revenue from newly acquired Black’s Photo, offsetting a decline in network revenue.

– Wireless data revenue of $243 million increased $40 million or 20% due to the continued adoption of smartphones and mobile Internet keys, and increased use of data services such as text messaging and wireless social networking.

– ARPU (average revenue per subscriber unit per month) declined by 7.7% to $57.38 compared to the same quarter a year ago, as voice ARPU continued its downward trend due to declining minutes of use and plan optimization by consumers and businesses, lower business-oriented Mike service revenue, increased proportion of Koodo Mobile customers, and decreased inbound roaming revenues.

– Net subscriber additions of 122,000 were 18% lower than for the same period a year ago. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to lower prepaid net additions and the company’s focus on launching a number of major wireless strategic initiatives that began ramping up in November. Higher value postpaid net additions were 109,000 and represented 89% of total new wireless customers, up from 80% in the year-ago period.

– Blended monthly subscriber churn was essentially flat year-over-year at 1.60%.

– Cost of acquisition per gross addition increased by only 2.2% year-over-year to $380, reflecting higher advertising and promotional expenses related to the new 3G+ wireless network launch in November, and higher cost of subsidizing smartphone devices (notably including the Apple iPhone), partially offset by lower commissions.

– Cost of retention of $133 million increased by $28 million, reflecting higher costs associated with increased retention volumes to support customer migrations to smartphones, including the Apple iPhone.

More at TELUS