Telus Corp. reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of $493 million, up from $280 million a year ago.
The company said the profit amounted to 32 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Telus said much of the increase compared with a year ago was due to a gain on the purchase of long-term debt.
Operating revenue and other income totalled $5.11 billion, up from $5.10 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, the company said it earned 24 cents per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 28 cents per share a year ago.
The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of 26 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
Desjardins analyst Jerome Dubreuil said the results were below expectations, but noted some positives for the company. That included “robust” net internet adds, with Telus reporting it signed up 40,000 net internet customers, up 6,000 from a year earlier.
“The stock has underperformed its Big 3 peers over the past month,” Dubreuil said in a note.
“Telus underperformed Rogers Communications Inc. by 11 per cent and BCE Inc. by six per cent. We expect a negative share price reaction.”
Telus said it also added 82,000 net mobile phone subscribers in the quarter, down 48,000 year-over-year.
The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.11 per cent in the third quarter, compared with 1.09 per cent a year ago. The result included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.91 per cent.
It said higher churn was due to “more intense competitive promotional pricing” in the market, which was partially offset by Telus’ focus on customer retention and network quality, along with success in bundled offerings.
Its mobile phone average revenue per user was $57.21 in the third quarter, a decrease of $1.64 or 2.8 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in roaming revenues as more Canadians adopt unlimited data and Canada-U.S.-Mexico plans.
Meanwhile, there were 169,000 connected device net additions, an increase of 10,000, thanks to Telus adding many new customers in the transportation and connectivity industries.
“Our results showcase the compelling value of our comprehensive bundled services across mobile and home solutions, alongside the strategic rollout of Telus PureFibre connectivity to homes and businesses nationwide,” said Telus president and CEO Darren Entwistle in a news release.
