Shaw says iPhone will help it take on Big Three
Analysts said overall results were mixed, with weakness in main wireline business
CALGARY— The arrival of Apple’s iPhone at Freedom Mobile last month has transformed the way it’s competing against Canada’s three big national wireless carriers, Shaw Communications said Thursday after it reported mixed quarterly results.
The Calgary-based cable, internet and satellite company is a relatively new player in Canada’s wireless market, but Shaw president Jay Mehr told analysts he thinks Freedom Mobile is ready to take on the Big Three.
“It does feel like a new business, starting in December,” Mehr said on a conference call to discuss Shaw’s results for its fiscal 2018 first quarter, ended Nov. 30 — just prior to the addition of Apple’s products to its lineup for the first time. Shaw added 34,000 wireless subscribers during the months of September, October and November, bringing its total number of wireless customers to 1.18 million.
Analysts said Shaw’s overall results were mixed, with weakness in its main wireline business offsetting wireless growth.
Wireless revenue climbed 26.8 per cent to $175 million, while wireline revenue fell 0.4 per cent to $1.08 billion, as the number of wireline subscribers fell in the quarter by about 34,000.
The quarter’s wireless additions were more than triple the 9,500 net additions in the comparable months of 2016.
Mehr said that Shaw’s wireless business — now named Freedom — has changed fundamentally with the arrival of Apple at the beginning of this year’s fiscal second quarter, which began Dec. 1.
“It has changed all aspects of our wireless business,” Mehr said.
Earlier, the company reported a first-quarter profit of $114 million, or 22 cents per diluted share of net income, up from $89 million, or 18 cents per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue totalled $1.25 billion, up from $1.22 billion.