Bell's Q3: Revenue and subscribers are up but feeling the pinch from 'aggressive competitors'
Bell as recorded their third-quarter results for this year.
Total wireless subscribers are up 3.4% to just under 7.4 million, but momentum has slowed, with net additions dropping 38% year-over-year. The Montreal telco says this is due to "more aggressive acquisition offers from competitors." The company's average revenue per user is up by 2.7%, driven by rising data usage—postpaid ARPU is up to a staggering $65 per year. Meanwhile, prepaid ARPU actually decreased by a dollar to less than $18 annually.
Total revenue for Bell increased by 5.6% to $1.4 billion.
"Healthy operating metrics across our businesses as well as efficient management of our cost structure and working capital enabled us to generate strong net earnings growth of 41.4% and over $1 billion of free cash flow this quarter," said Siim Vanaselja, Chief Financial Officer for Bell Canada and BCE.
"Bell's strategy of heavy investment in world-leading broadband networks to deliver the best media and data services across all four screens is underpinned by a strict focus on customer service and cost efficiency, and it's driving strong performance in our broadband wireless, TV and Internet growth services," said George Cope, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada.
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