Rogers boosts outlook after profit jumps
Rogers Communications Inc. reported a 25-per-cent increase in profit on higher revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022, driven mainly by growth in its wireless and media businesses.
The company said Feb. 2 that net income increased to $508 million for the threemonth period ending Dec. 31, 2022, up from $405 million in the same quarter a year ago. Quarterly revenue checked in at $4.16 billion, up six per cent from $3.92 billion a year ago.
The company also boosted its annual outlook for 2023, projecting a growth in total service revenue and adjusted EBITDA. The forecast excludes expenses related to its takeover of Shaw Communications Inc.
“You can see that our underlying business is performing well and that we have not nor will become distracted,” chief executive Anthony Staffieri told investors Thursday morning. He added that the company will update its guidance once the Shaw transaction is approved.
Rogers’ wireless service revenue increased seven per cent in the fourth quarter, which it said was a result of higher roaming revenue as people returned to travel after COVID-19 restrictions lifted. It also reported a 17-percent increase in media revenue for the quarter, mainly from higher sports-related revenue, including higher Toronto Blue Jays revenue and higher advertising revenue.
The earnings results come two days after the deadline was extended to Feb. 17 for closing of its proposed merger with Shaw, as well as the sale of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile to Quebecor Inc.
Staffieri said Rogers remains committed to the $26-billion Shaw transaction, which now only needs final approval from federal industry minister François-philippe Champagne.
In a statement, NDP MP Brian Masse criticized Rogers’ higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profits.
“The profits Rogers reported today only confirm what Canadians know: that they are paying through the nose for their cellphone bills so a massive telecom company and its wealthy investors can make sky-high profits,” Masse said, urging the federal government to block the Rogers-shaw merger, which he said “will only mean less competition and higher prices for Canadians.”