Rogers Communications posted its Q2 2013 results today, and things are looking up for the company. Revenue increased 3% year-over-year to $3.2 billion, reflecting growth in the wireless and media businesses. Net income also rose from Q2 last year to $532 million.
The company netted 98,000 postpaid wireless subscribers, and maintained a considerable operating profit margin of 49.2% in the category. Wireless data continues to power the company’s revenues, growing by 18% over the previous quarter, making up 46% of Rogers’ total wireless revenue. But wireless data growth has actually slowed in recent quarters, from its high of 23% in Q4 2012 and its continued drive in Q1 2013 of 22%.
One particular high point was the number of smartphone activations, which stood at 678,000, and was slightly higher than the previous quarter. Percentage of postpaid subscribers with smartphones rose 1% from the previous quarter to 72%.
Total wireless subscribers also rose to 9.41 million, maintaining Rogers’ position as the largest network provider in Canada. Blended ARPU (average revenue per user) dropped slightly from the previous quarter to $59.30 which, surprisingly, was the result of a lower postpaid ARPU of $67.36, down over a dollar from last quarter. But as voice ARPU drops, data picks up; it won’t be long before the two categories switch places.
The company emphasized that it continues to spend a lot on customer retention and device subsidies, spending $208 million to do so in the three-month period between March 31 and June 30. The increase over last year “reflects a higher number of hardware upgrades by existing subscribers than during the same periods last year and a shift in the mix of smartphones activated towards higher value devices,” according to the press release.
It will be very interesting to see what happens to Rogers’ and the other incumbents’ balance sheets as they transition from three- to two-year contracts.
Via: Rogers
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