BCE reports first quarter 2018 results

MONTRÉAL, May 3, 2018

• Net earnings increased 3.1% to $709 million; net earnings attributable to common shareholders up 3.0% to $661 million, or $0.73 per common share; adjusted net earnings of $719 million 2.3% higher, generating adjusted EPS of $0.80
• Cash flows from operating activities of $1,496 million, up 13.9%, delivered free cash flow growth of 9.8%
• 4.8% revenue growth drove 4.1% higher adjusted EBITDA with healthy 40.3% margin
• 101,707 total broadband net customer additions in postpaid wireless, Internet and IPTV, up 39.0% over last year
• Wireless postpaid net additions of 68,487, up 91.4%, drove 10.1% higher revenue
• Wireline revenue up 3.6% on continued strong Fibe customer growth and improved business markets performance
• Mass-market launch of Bell's all-fibre network in Toronto delivering the best residential and business broadband Internet connectivity to Canada's largest city

MONTRÉAL, May 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - BCE Inc. (TSX: BCE) (NYSE: BCE) today reported results for the first quarter (Q1) of 2018 in accordance with the newly adopted International Financial Reporting Standard 15 (IFRS 15), and applied these new accounting policies retrospectively to our 2017 results to facilitate year-over-year comparability.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
($ millions except per share amounts) (unaudited)	Q1 2018	Q1 2017 ARIVA.DE Börsen-Geflüster Werbung Weiter abwärts? Kurzfristig positionieren in BCE ME8M3D Ask: 0,87 Hebel: 4,75 mit moderatem Hebel Zum Produkt Morgan Stanley Den Basisprospekt sowie die Endgültigen Bedingungen und die Basisinformationsblätter erhalten Sie hier: ME8M3D,. Beachten Sie auch die weiteren Hinweise zu dieser Werbung. Der Emittent ist berechtigt, Wertpapiere mit open end-Laufzeit zu kündigen. Kurse BCE 32,69 $ -1,12%	% change
BCE
Operating revenues	5,590	5,336	4.8%
Net earnings	709	688	3.1%
Net earnings attributable to common shareholders	661	642	3.0%
Adjusted net earnings(1)	719	703	2.3%
Adjusted EBITDA(2)	2,254	2,166	4.1%
EPS	0.73	0.73	-
Adjusted EPS(1)	0.80	0.80	-
Cash flows from operating activities	1,496	1,313	13.9%
Free cash flow(3)	537	489	9.8%

"Network leadership continues to drive Bell's progress in broadband customer additions, service usage and revenue growth as we welcomed approximately 102,000 net new postpaid wireless, Internet and IPTV customers in the first quarter of 2018. With Canada's best national mobile network, we delivered almost double the number of wireless postpaid subscribers gained in Q1 2017 and our best Q1 result since 2011; continued strong increases in revenue and adjusted EBITDA; and growing customer satisfaction reflected in our fourth consecutive quarter of reduced postpaid churn. Bell's growing all-fibre network is propelling solid wireline financial performance with continued increases in Fibe TV and Internet customer additions, strong performance by Bell Business Markets, and reduced landline losses as households increasingly opt for Fibe service bundles. In a transforming media marketplace, Bell Media continued to build its lead across specialty, pay and conventional TV and other media while executing its strategy to deliver the best content across multiple platforms," said George Cope, President and CEO of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada.

"Leadership in network, service and content innovation is core to Bell's continued growth in broadband services. We are proud to hold our annual general meeting of shareholders in Toronto today, where Bell recently turned on our unparalleled pure fibre network and announced our next major rollout to centres throughout the fast-growing GTA/905 region, adding to the increasing number of cities and almost 4 million Canadians across 7 provinces benefitting from Bell's all-fibre broadband network."

Bell is focused on achieving a clear goal – to be recognized by customers as Canada's leading communications company – through the execution of 6 Strategic Imperatives: Invest in Broadband Networks & Services, Accelerate Wireless, Leverage Wireline Momentum, Expand Media Leadership, Improve Customer Service, and Achieve a Competitive Cost Structure.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS

Bell pure fibre: It's On in Toronto, rolling out to GTA/905
Bell launched its all-fibre broadband network in Toronto in April, connecting homes and businesses throughout Canada's most populous city with the world's best Internet technology. Built for the future, the Bell fibre to the premises (FTTP) network delivers symmetrical access speeds up to a Gigabit per second (Gbps) now and up to 40 Gbps and beyond in future. Bell also announced plans to expand FTTP to the fast-growing GTA/905 region surrounding Toronto. Broadband innovations included the launch of the exclusive Bell Whole Home Wi-Fi service that delivers smart and fast Wi-Fi to every room in the home, and expanded access to Bell's Alt TV service with Amazon Fire TV Stick and Android TV devices including Sony, NVIDIA, Xiaomi and other Google certified products.

Virgin Mobile #1 in customer service, Lucky Mobile expands to MB and SK
The J.D. Power 2018 Canada Wireless Customer Care Study ranked Virgin Mobile Canada highest in overall customer care satisfaction for the second consecutive year. Bell's low-cost prepaid service Lucky Mobile expanded to Manitoba and Saskatchewan in March and now offers budget-conscious Canadians service plans starting as low as $10. Wireless network innovation included the successful completion of Wireless to the Home (WTTH) trials in the 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz spectrum bands. WTTH will leverage 5G to deliver broadband speeds to small population centres; Bell plans to roll out initial WTTH services to more than 20 rural communities in Ontario and Québec this year.

Bell Media invests in Pinewood; Sony acquires international rights to The Launch
Bell Media continued to drive its strategy to develop the best creative content for both Canadian and international audiences, acquiring a majority stake in Pinewood Toronto Studios, one of the largest purpose-built production studios in Canada, and announcing that Sony Pictures Television had acquired international distribution rights for CTV's highly successful Canadian music competition series format The Launch. The inaugural season of The Launch debuted at #1 in its timeslot on CTV and has delivered a string of #1 musical hits in Canada.

Innovation in Smart Cities and the Internet of Things
In addition to Bell's extensive Smart City pilot project with the City of Kingston, which employs Internet of Things (IoT) data monitoring solutions to improve municipal operating efficiencies and enhance services for residents, we are working with Echologics to deliver a wireless IoT water management solution for Medicine Hat, Alberta; providing touch-screen smart kiosks and free Wi-Fi access for downtown St. Catharine's, Ontario; and partnering with Icicle Technologies to offer a comprehensive IoT-based production management system for Canada's food industry.

Recognition for Bell Let's Talk, Bell Media, diversity leadership
Bell stood out at the Canadian Screen Awards in March as the Bell Let's Talk mental health initiative received the 2018 Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and Bell Media was honoured with 52 awards, including best national newscast for the CTV National News with Lisa LaFlamme; 7 awards, more than all other sports broadcasters combined, for TSN; and best reality series for The Amazing Race Canada. For the second year in a row, Bell has been named one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers by Mediacorp, recognizing Bell's commitment to providing an inclusive and accessible workplace that reflects Canada's diversity.

BCE RESULTS
"BCE's results in the first quarter of 2018 mark a solid beginning to the year in a competitive and fast-changing marketplace. Strong operational and financial performance in wireless and wireline, including the contribution of Bell MTS, and ongoing cost discipline are delivering the free cash flow that enables our lead in broadband network investment while also driving shareholder value. This includes BCE's increased common share dividend for 2018 announced on February 8 – our fourteenth such increase since Q4 2008, representing dividend growth of 107% – and our recently completed $175 million share buyback program," said Glen LeBlanc, Chief Financial Officer for BCE and Bell. "BCE's Q1 results are in line with 2018 guidance growth targets, which are unchanged with the move to IFRS 15 reporting as our business outlook and financial plan remain firmly on track."

BCE operating revenue was up 4.8% in Q1 to $5,590 million. Service revenue grew 3.2% to $4,964 million, and product revenue increased 19.2% to $626 million. This reflects increases at both Bell Wireless and Bell Wireline, including favourable financial contributions from Bell MTS, partly offset by a modest year-over-year revenue decline at Bell Media.

Net earnings increased 3.1% to $709 million and net earnings attributable to common shareholders grew 3.0% to $661 million. Net earnings per common share was unchanged compared to Q1 2017 at $0.73 per share, the result of a higher average number of BCE common shares outstanding due to the shares issued for the acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) on March 17, 2017. Higher net earnings were the result of operating revenue growth driving higher adjusted EBITDA as well as lower severance, acquisition and other costs, partly offset by increased depreciation and amortization expense and higher other expense attributable mainly to net mark-to-market losses on equity derivatives used as economic hedges of share-based compensation plans.

Excluding severance, acquisition and other costs, net gains or losses on investments, net mark-to-market changes on derivatives used to economically hedge equity settled share-based compensation plans, early debt redemption costs and impairment charges, adjusted net earnings were up 2.3% to $719 million, driven by strong year-over-year growth in adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EPS was unchanged compared to Q1 2017 at $0.80 per common share.

Adjusted EBITDA grew 4.1% to $2,254 million on increases of 6.9% at Bell Wireless and 3.1% at Bell Wireline, which included an incremental contribution from the MTS acquisition that lapped during the quarter on March 17. Bell Media adjusted EBITDA was down 3.0% due to the combined impact of lower advertising revenue and higher programming costs compared to last year. BCE's consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin⁽²⁾ decreased to 40.3% from 40.6% in Q1 2017, due to a $14 million charge for the period May 2015 to December 2017 to account for lower final rates set by the CRTC in its recent wholesale domestic roaming tariff decision. Excluding this retroactive regulatory impact, adjusted EBITDA was up 4.7% this quarter.

Consistent with higher planned spending in 2018 on BCE's broadband wireline and wireless network infrastructure, total consolidated capital expenditures increased 9.3% to $931 million in Q1 from $852 million last year. This represented a capital intensity ⁽⁴⁾ ratio (capital expenditures as a percentage of total revenue) of 16.7% compared to 16.0% in Q1 2017. The increase was due to continued expansion of broadband fibre and mobile LTE, including the deployment of wireless small-cells to optimize mobile coverage, signal quality and data backhaul, and ongoing investment in Manitoba to improve broadband network coverage, capacity and speeds.

BCE cash flows from operating activities were $1,496 million, up 13.9% from $1,313 million in Q1 2017, the result of higher adjusted EBITDA, lower acquisition and other costs paid, and a positive change in working capital. Free cash flow was $537 million, 9.8% higher than Q1 2017, driven by increased cash flows from operating activities excluding acquisition and other costs paid, partly offset by higher capital expenditures.

BCE reported 68,487 net new wireless postpaid subscribers and a decrease of 24,110 net wireless prepaid customers; 19,647 net new high-speed Internet customers; 13,573 net new IPTV customers and a decrease of 26,054 net satellite TV customers. Residential NAS line net losses totalled 57,533.

At the beginning of Q1 2018, the high-speed Internet, IPTV and NAS subscriber bases were increased by 19,835, 14,599 and 23,441, respectively, mainly to reflect the acquisition of a small telecom provider in the quarter. The high-speed Internet subscriber base was also adjusted to reflect the transfer of 16,116 fixed wireless Internet customers from Bell Wireless.

BCE customer connections across wireless, Internet, TV and residential NAS totalled 19,072,421 at March 31, 2018, up 0.9% from last year. The total includes 9,195,048 wireless customers, up 2.8% over last year (including 8,471,021 postpaid customers, an increase of 4.0%); total high-speed Internet subscribers of 3,845,739, up 3.5%; total TV subscribers of 2,834,418 (including 1,578,489 IPTV customers, an increase of 7.7%), down 0.1% overall; and residential NAS lines of 3,197,216, down 6.0%.

BCE OPERATING RESULTS BY SEGMENT

Bell Wireless
A consistent focus on subscriber profitability and disciplined operational execution drove another quarter of strong wireless financial results. Total operating revenue increased 10.1% to $1,946 million, with service revenue growing 6.1% to $1,512 million, and product revenue up 26.9% to $434 million.

Service revenue growth was driven mainly by a larger postpaid subscriber base and the financial contribution from Bell MTS. Service revenue was impacted unfavourably by the retroactive regulatory charge noted above. Excluding this one-time impact, wireless service revenue was up 7.1%.

Higher product revenue was the result of more new gross customer activations and handset upgrades, and a higher sales mix of premium smartphones.

Wireless adjusted EBITDA increased 6.9% to $822 million on the high flow-through of strong revenue growth, which yielded a revenue margin of 42.2%. Operating costs increased 12.6%, driven by the incremental expense contribution of Bell MTS, increased cost of goods sold reflecting the higher volumes of handset sales, higher costs to support a growing customer base and increasing data usage, and increased advertising. Excluding the retroactive regulatory impact, wireless adjusted EBITDA increased 8.7% in Q1.

• Postpaid net additions increased 91.4% to 68,487, our best Q1 performance since 2011. This was driven by 17.1% higher gross additions of 347,319, reflecting Bell's mobile network speed and technology leadership, effective sales execution across our retail channels, the continued onboarding of customers from a long-term mobile services contract win with Shared Services Canada, the contribution of Bell MTS, and lower customer churn⁽⁴⁾ which improved 0.04 percentage points to 1.13%.
• Lucky Mobile, Bell's new low-cost prepaid service, is driving an improved prepaid subscriber trajectory with 57,471 prepaid gross additions in Q1, up 10.9% over last year, supporting a 31.3% decrease in net prepaid customer losses to 24,110.
• Bell Wireless postpaid customers totalled 8,471,021 at March 31, 2018, a 4.0% increase over Q1 2017. Total wireless customers increased 2.8% to 9,195,048.
• Blended average billing per user (ABPU)⁽⁴⁾ increased 1.4% to $66.56, driven by a higher postpaid subscriber mix, more customers moving to higher-value monthly plans with larger data allotments, increased roaming revenue and the flow-through of pricing changes. Blended ABPU in Q1 2018 was adjusted to exclude the $14 million regulatory impact. Blended ABPU is equivalent to blended ARPU reported prior to the adoption of IFRS 15.

Bell Wireline
Wireline operating revenue increased 3.6% to $3,084 million, service revenue increased 3.5% to $2,892 million and product revenue rose 4.3% to $192 million. The year-over-year revenue increases were driven by Internet and IPTV subscriber base growth, higher household ARPU⁽⁴⁾, improved Bell Business Markets performance including higher Internet Protocol (IP) broadband connectivity revenue and stronger sales of data product and business service solutions to large enterprise customers, and the incremental financial contribution of Bell MTS.

Wireline adjusted EBITDA was up 3.1% to $1,302 million on strong revenue flow-through, slower NAS erosion and disciplined cost management. Operating costs increased 4.0% to $1,782 million, due mainly to the incremental expense contribution of Bell MTS and higher post-employment benefit plans service costs. Wireline adjusted EBITDA margin declined 0.2 percentage points to 42.2% as a result of the year-over-year increase in post-employment benefit plans service costs.

• High-speed Internet net subscriber additions totalled 19,647, up 31.1% compared to 14,989 in Q1 2017. The significant growth in net additions reflects the ongoing expansion of Bell's all-fibre footprint, which drove subscriber growth and lower residential customer churn despite aggressive cable bundle promotions, as well as the pull-through of Internet customer activations from Alt TV, Bell's app-based live TV streaming service.
• BCE's high-speed Internet customer base totalled 3,845,739 at the end of Q1, up 3.5% over last year.
• Bell TV added 13,573 net new IPTV subscribers, a decrease from 22,402 gained in Q1 2017 due to a higher rate of penetration in current Fibe markets and ongoing over-the-top substitution. These factors were partly offset by customer additions from Bell's new Alt TV streaming service. BCE's total IPTV customer base grew to 1,578,489 at March 31, 2018, up 7.7% over last year.
• Satellite TV net customer losses were down 31.6% to 26,054 from 38,065 in Q1 2017, with reduced deactivations and migrations reflecting a more mature subscriber base geographically better-suited for satellite TV service.
• At March 31, 2018, Bell had a total of 2,834,418 TV subscribers, compared to 2,837,353 at the end of Q1 2017.
• Wireline data service revenue increased 5.9% to $1,820 million, the result of growing Internet and IPTV subscriber bases, higher ARPU from customer upgrades to faster Internet speeds and 2017 price changes, increased business IP broadband connectivity revenue, and the favourable impact of Bell MTS.
• Wireline product revenue was up 4.3% to $192 million, due mainly to higher sales of telecommunications equipment to large enterprise customers.
• Other services revenue increased 43.2% to $63 million, driven by the incremental financial contributions from the acquisitions of MTS and AlarmForce Industries.
• Residential NAS net losses were down 21.6% to 57,533 from 73,421 in Q1 2017, reflecting improved customer retention in Bell's fibre footprint. Bell residential NAS access lines totalled 3,197,216 at March 31, 2018, a 6.0% decline from 3,399,981 last year.
• Total wireline voice revenue decreased 3.2% to $950 million due to NAS access line reductions, decreased usage of traditional long distance, greater use of inclusive long-distance residential plans and lower sales of international long distance minutes to wholesale customers compared to Q1 2017.

Bell Media
Media operating revenue remained stable in Q1, declining just 0.3% to $749 million as lower advertising revenue was largely offset by higher subscriber revenue.

Advertising revenue for conventional and specialty TV decreased due to a continuing soft advertising market and a shift in spending by advertisers to the main broadcaster of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. Subscriber revenue increased, reflecting continued steady growth in CraveTV and TV Everywhere GO platforms, while digital media properties and out-of-home advertising also reported revenue growth.

Media adjusted EBITDA was down 3.0% in Q1 to $130 million, the result of higher operating costs driven by sports broadcast rights and CraveTV programming expansion.

• CTV was the most-watched television network among key demographics in primetime for the 14^th consecutive winter broadcast season with 9 of the top 20 programs.
• TSN remained Canada's #1 specialty sports channel and the top specialty network overall. TSN audiences grew 15% over Q1 2017 as a result of key programming such as the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
• Bell Media remained Canada's top radio broadcaster in winter 2018, reaching an average audience of 16.8 million listeners that spent more than 71 million hours tuned in each week.
• Bell Media remained the digital media leader among Canadian broadcast and video network competitors in terms of views, minutes watched and videos served with monthly averages of 482 million total views, 1 billion minutes spent, and 58 million videos served. We reached 65% of digital audiences in Q1 with 20 million unique monthly visitors.

COMMON SHARE DIVIDEND
BCE's Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.755 per common share, payable on July 15, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15, 2018.

OUTLOOK FOR 2018
As a result of the adoption of IFRS 15, BCE has updated its adjusted EPS dollar guidance range upwards. All other financial guidance targets for 2018 remain unchanged.

	February 8 Guidance	May 3 Guidance
Revenue growth	2% – 4%	2% – 4%
Adjusted EBITDA growth	2% – 4%	2% – 4%
Capital intensity	approx. 17%	approx. 17%
Adjusted EPS	$3.42 – $3.52	$3.45 – $3.55
Adjusted EPS growth	1% - 4%	1% - 4%
Free cash flow growth	3% – 7% Werbung Mehr Nachrichten zur BCE Aktie kostenlos abonnieren E-Mail-Adresse Bitte überprüfe deine die E-Mail-Adresse. Benachrichtigungen von ARIVA.DE (Mit der Bestellung akzeptierst du die Datenschutzhinweise) -1 Vielen Dank, dass du dich für unseren Newsletter angemeldet hast. Du erhältst in Kürze eine E-Mail mit einem Aktivierungslink. Hinweis: ARIVA.DE veröffentlicht in dieser Rubrik Analysen, Kolumnen und Nachrichten aus verschiedenen Quellen. Die ARIVA.DE AG ist nicht verantwortlich für Inhalte, die erkennbar von Dritten in den „News“-Bereich dieser Webseite eingestellt worden sind, und macht sich diese nicht zu Eigen. Diese Inhalte sind insbesondere durch eine entsprechende „von“-Kennzeichnung unterhalb der Artikelüberschrift und/oder durch den Link „Um den vollständigen Artikel zu lesen, klicken Sie bitte hier.“ erkennbar; verantwortlich für diese Inhalte ist allein der genannte Dritte. Andere Nutzer interessierten sich auch für folgende News 08:56 - PR Newswire BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust Plc - Portfolio Update 08:56 - PR Newswire Samson Rock Capital LLP - Form 8.3 - Gresham Technologies Plc 07:47 - PR Newswire Everest Global Plc - Result of AGM SolarBank    Wie die Revolution der sauberen Energie eine solide Investitionsmöglichkeit bieten könnte weiterlesen» Anzeige wo-site-teaser-box-16755_site-teaser-box_2024-04-25_09%253A00%253A00_2024-04-26_09%253A00%253A59