Shaw reports strong financials despite low subscriber growth in Q3

Shaw announced its Q3 2020 earnings on July 10th, noting Freedom Mobile obtained only 2,200 new wireless subscribers. The quarter ended May 31st.

The number is a significant drop compared to Q2 2020, which saw Freedom add 51,000 wireless subscribers. Shaw says the low subscriber activity is because of temporary retail store closures and social distancing requirements caused by the pandemic.

Additionally, Shaw says the postpaid churn rate was a record low of 0.96 percent due to the reduced customer activity. Freedom’s average billing per unit (ABPU) grew by 5.7 percent, and average revenue per unit (ARPU) increased by 2.6 percent.

Shaw says that new customer activity in its wireline segment was also substantially lower compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. Consumer internet saw a marginal net loss of approximately 5,100, and video losses were about 22,000 in the quarter. Shaw notes this is a slight improvement compared to last year.

Despite the reduced subscriber activity, Shaw says it saw a 72 percent increase in customers choosing to self-install.

Shaw says its wireless service revenue for the three month period increased 17 percent over the same time last year. The company pulled in $206 million.

“The severity and duration of impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic remain uncertain and management continues to focus on the safety of our people, most of whom continue to work from home, connectivity of our customer base, compliance with guidelines and requirements issued by various health authorities and government organizations, and continuity of other critical business operations,” Shaw included in the report.