Rogers slides on sales, roaming

Profit pinched by pandemic restrictions

Shares of Rogers Communications Inc. fell Thursday as the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that fell short of analysts' estimates, with the company's media business taking a hit due to advertising shortfalls and the postponement of live sporting events.

Revenue from the media segment, which includes television, radio broadcasting and digital media fell 23 per cent to $409 million, as the NHL and NBA seasons due to begin during the quarter were postponed, Rogers said.

The telecom operator's total revenue fell to $3.68 billion, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $3.95 billion a year ago. Analysts expected revenue of $3.79 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

This comes as Rogers' wireless services revenue, which benefits from international roaming charges, fell as fewer people travelled overseas.

The Toronto-based company also faces additional pressure to grow its subscriber base in the midst of stiff competition from other telecom players looking to bring in more customers on their new 5G wireless networks.

During the quarter the company added 114,000 subscribers who pay a monthly bill, versus 138,000 in the third quarter, due to a dip in store visits from renewed pandemic restrictions. Average revenue per user fell nine per cent to $50.02.

Excluding items, the company earned 99 cents per share, compared with analysts' estimates of 98 cents per share.

Rogers shares closed Thursday five-per-cent lower at $58.85 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Rogers didn't provide financial guidance for the year as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic “could remain material in 2021,” the company said in a news release.

“Despite the spike in the second wave across the country and a new series of restrictions that have been rolled out and expanded in December in certain provinces, we saw continued improvement in many areas of our business,” chief executive Joe Natale said on a call Thursday with analysts.

“Our long-term vision has not wavered. We are focused on investing in core assets to generate long-term value for our shareholders.”

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Butler said in a December note that Rogers' wireless revenue could rise in the latter part of 2021.

“The path to higher growth is likely to be backend-loaded in 2021, with a return to normalcy unlikely until” the second half of the year, he wrote.

Canadian major telecommunications rivals BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. are scheduled to report their financial results in the next two weeks.