Apple iPhone hurts Rogers second quarter net additions

The iPhone hasn't been good for Rogers Communications Inc. in the short-term. Its April announcement of the iPhone's pending arrival "slammed the brakes" on new subscriber additions, Rogers Wireless president Rob Bruce told investors today."The quarter really slowed down when we announced the iPhone," Bruce said during the companys Q2 financial and subscriber results conference call. "It's like somebody slammed on the brakes. We just noticed a real marked decrease in demand, almost consistent with the day that we actually made the announcement." Now that the iPhone has been released, the company expects net additions in future quarters to be strong, he added.Post-paid average revenue per user (ARPU) also took a hit with growth slowing to 4% in Q2 from 7% in the previous quarter. Rogers COO Nadir Mohamed noted during the call that much of this slower growth can be attributed to lower voice revenue and people holding back purchases until the iPhone became available.Wireless data revenue also experienced a hiccup during the quarter with growth slowing from 47% in the first quarter of 2008 to 34% in Q2. Bruce downplayed the slower growth by pointing to actual dollar values. He said data ARPU accounted for about $12 of the Q2's overall ARPU, which is higher than levels currently reported by wireless operators in both the US and in Europe.Despite the slower data revenue growth in Q2, the company remains a firm believer in data and will continue to push hard on this front, with the iPhone expected to be a major revenue driver. In the second quarter, wireless data revenue accounted for 15.5% of ARPU, up slightly from 15.1% in the first quarter and 13% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2007."We continue to believe that data is going along at a robust pace," Bruce said, noting that a new generation of devices such as the iPhone, Research in Motion's BlackBerry Bold and mobile broadband modems from companies such as Sierra Wireless will help boost data revenue.Despite slower ARPU growth, the media and communications conglomerate saw its wireless ARPU increase in the second quarter after it dipped to levels below that of a year ago. ARPU in Q2 hit $75.48, jumping back up from the first quarter per-subscriber revenue of $72.39, which was lower than Q2 2007. Data Revenue and ARPU Trend, Last Eight Quarters Data Revenue PercentageAverage revenue per userQ2 200815.5%$75.48Q1 200815.1%$72.39Q4 200714.1%$75.15Q3 200713.6%$73.33Q2 200713%$72.65Q1 200712.3%$67.64Q4 200611.2%$70.37Q3 200610.5%$69.04Q2 200610%$67.26Q1 200610.3%$62.20

Apple iPhone hurts Rogers second quarter net additions

News | July 29, 2008

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