Telus reports solid quarter but wireless growth lags rivals

Telus Corp.’s strategy to deploy ultra-fast fibre networks appeared to pay off for its internet business in the first quarter of the year, but its wireless growth lagged behind its peers.

On Thursday, the Vancouverbased communications giant reported results in-line with analysts’ expectations for the three months ended Mar. 31. As expected, it raised its dividend by 6.6 per cent to $0.525 per share.

Telus added fewer wireless subscribers than its top competitors BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. — it added 48,000 new customers on contract compared to 68,000 and 95,000 — but chief executive Darren Entwistle said Telus is in a “great position” due to the combination of wireless and wireline performance.

“It’s not a one-trick pony type organization,” Entwistle said on a conference call with analysts. “That diversity component is critical.”

Entwistle noted the entire wireless market is growing, adding 60 per cent more subscribers than the same period last year. He touted Telus’s industry-leading churn rate — the percentage of customers leaving for another provider has been below 1.0 per cent for five years — and noted it was the national carrier with the fewest complaints to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services.

“I continue to believe that the organization that will do well within a competitive environment is the organization that’s got the best loyalty and retention because it’s got the best customer service and the best network performance,” Entwistle said.