Cogeco offering no details on MVNO strategy

Cogeco Inc. has long been a vocal proponent of mandated mobile virtual operators in Canada, so it’s no surprise CEO Philippe Jetté indicated the company plans to take advantage of the CRTC’s new position regarding MVNOs on a call with analysts Wednesday, though he declined to elaborate on how the company might take advantage of the new regulatory environment. “It’s too early to announce exactly the business model we’re looking at and contemplating but we certainly want to be part of this ecosystem,” Jetté said. The CRTC said in late February that it now holds the “preliminary view” that mobile virtual network operators “should have mandated access” to the networks of the big three national wireless providers until they can establish themselves in the market. “We are in active conversations, as you can imagine, not only with the government but also with industry players,” Jetté said. “My position at the moment is to work on these things and when we have meaningful announcements we will make them, but at this stage it’s private commercial conversations and government conversations that are taking place.” Cogeco, as a whole, reported $608.6 million in revenue in the three months ending Feb. 28, up almost 10 per cent from the same quarter a year earlier. The company said that increase was mostly because of the impact of the acquisition of MetroCast cable systems in January 2018, which Cogeco noted “was included in revenue for only a two-month period for the comparable period of the prior year.” Profit for the period stood at $82.3 million, down from $145.8 million. Cogeco said that “variation is mainly due to last year's $94 million income tax reduction following the United States tax reform and depreciation and amortization.” Its communications division, which makes up the bulk of the revenues, increased revenues by 10 per cent to $584.1 million, driven primarily by a 25.1 per cent growth in its American broadband segment. Profit for the division was roughly $80.8 million, down 44 per cent compared to the $143.8 million it made in the same period last year. The difference was mainly due to the same income tax reduction south of the border. The company gained a total of 9,964 internet customers -- compared to 14,451 in the same quarter last year -- and lost 12,021 TV customers in the quarter, fewer than the 6,750 it shed last Q2. It ended the quarter with 1.8 million Canadian customers, including 785,004 internet customers and 668,771 TV subscribers. In the U.S., it had 878,212 subscribers at quarter-end, including 429,562 internet and 307,606 TV customers. The company chalked up the lower numbers to a number of factors, including “seasonal disconnects from the Maine and New Hampshire areas in the United States,” and competitive offers. It also noted that the second quarter of 2018 “included the activation of a large bulk property in Florida.” Executives said during the call with analysts that the issues with its customer service system that affected its fourth quarter negatively have now been resolved.

Cogeco offering no details on MVNO strategy

Brief | April 10, 2019

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Cogeco offering no details on MVNO strategy

Brief | April 10, 2019

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