MONTREAL — BCE Inc. reported its first-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as it faced higher severance, acquisition and other costs related mainly to job cuts.
The company also says it faced increased net mark-to-market losses on derivatives, higher interest costs and increased depreciation and amortization expenses.
BCE says it earned a profit attributable to common shareholders of $402 million or 44 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31.
The result compared with a profit of $725 million or 79 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Operating revenue totalled $6.01 billion, down from $6.05 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 72 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 85 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
BCE president and CEO Mirko Bibic says the company "is off to a solid start" as it focuses on finding "operational efficiencies and our continued efforts to address near-term economic pressures, while effectively balancing growth with profitability."
“Today’s results reflect the Bell team’s continued ability to successfully navigate a heightened competitive environment and achieve operational results in line with our expectations for the quarter,” Bibic said in a press release on Thursday.
The company added 45,247 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, up 4.5 per cent from the same period last year, representing its best first-quarter result for the metric since 2018.
It says the increase was driven by population growth, continued demand for 5G and bundled services, effective promotions and stronger performance by its discount carrier Virgin Plus.
BCE's monthly churn rate for the category — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — was 1.21 per cent, up from 0.9 per cent during its previous first quarter.
It says this reflects an increasingly competitive market with more promotional offers, as well as reduced business customer demand.
Bell's wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.14, down a penny from the first quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)
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