Sasktel revenue drops amid competition
Revenues at Sasktel have dropped $29.6 million in the last year, according to the Crown corporation’s annual report.
But Don Morgan, the minister responsible, said the company will “continue to thrive” and keep a “keen competitive edge.”
The 2017-18 annual report shows the company had $1.25 billion in revenues, with $121 million in net income. It also paid a $89.9 million dividend to the province’s Crown Investment Corporation.
Sasktel’sdropinrevenue—which equates to 2.3 per cent from the year prior — was due, according to the company, to the economic environment, regional wireless pricing, changing consumer behaviour and increased competition.
Morgan told reporters Wednesday the company is “well-positioned to deal with those challenges.”
Doug Burnett, acting president and CEO of the company, and Morgan admitted the market for telecommunication services is changing, but maintained a positive view of Sasktel’s future.
Private competitors — notably the “Big Three” of Telus, Bell and Rogers — are eager to break into Sasktel’s market share, and are offering lower prices to do so. According to Sasktel, some companies are pricing products up to 40 per cent lower in Saskatchewan than they would elsewhere.
Despite the increasing competitiveness, Sasktel reports it is maintaining 67 per cent of the wireless internet market share. That share has dropped roughly 1.5 per cent in recent years, but still positions the Crown as the alpha in Saskatchewan.
At this same time last year, much of the talk around Sasktel was focused on whether or not the province would sell the Crown corporation, which was in part prompted by the government evaluating the company’s ability to compete on the open market in the future.
That talk has since ended. Morgan said there was no discussion taking place about a potential sale and any overarching concerns about Sasktel being privatized can be put to rest.
Burnett, who was named as the acting president and CEO in June 2017, remains in his role on an interim basis. Morgan said there will be a recommendation on naming a permanent head of the company in the coming weeks or months.