Telus 4Q Profit Rises, Revenue Growth Misses Views

By Adriano Marchese

Telus on Friday reported a 17% rise in profit in the fourth quarter, while revenue growth was driven by higher mobile subscribers and health services users.

The Canadian telecommunications giant posted net income of 310 million Canadian dollars ($230.3 million), or C$0.20 a share, up from C$265 million, or C$0.17 a share, in the comparable quarter a year ago.

Adjusted earnings rose to C$0.24 a share. According to FactSet, analysts were expecting this to be C$0.23 a share.

Revenue rose to C$5.2 billion from C$5.06 billion, shy of analyst expectations of a rise to C$5.24 billion.

In the period, Telus saw a 13% increase in net additions to its mobile phone service at 126,000. The company credits the increase to continued market-driven promotional activity, increased retail and digital traffic, as well as population growth driven by high levels of immigration to the country.

For its internet services, Telus saw a decline in users. It said internet net additions were 36,000, down 6,000 from a year earlier, due to a higher churn rate from macroeconomic and competitive pressures which affected consumer purchasing decisions.

On the healthcare front, Telus said it had 5.6 million members enrolled in its virtual care services and served 69.5 million lives.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 09, 2024 07:29 ET (12:29 GMT)

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