BCE Reports Q1 Results

BCE Inc.  today reported BCE and Bell results for the first quarter  of 2012.

BCE reported Q1 net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $574 million, up 14.1% from $503 million last year, and adjusted net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $580 million, an increase of 6.8% compared to $543 million in Q1 2011. Earnings per share (EPS) of $0.74 per share and Adjusted EPS(1) of $0.75 per share were up 10.4% and 4.2%, respectively, compared to $0.67 and $0.72 per share in Q1 2011.

Bell delivered revenue growth of 11.6%, reflecting significant contributions from Bell Media - formed in April 2011 after Bell acquired CTV - and Bell Wireless, which reported higher service revenues driven by a growing postpaid subscriber base and higher average revenue per user (ARPU). These growth services offset lower wireline revenue, reflecting continued decline in local and long-distance voice services that was nevertheless improved in Q1 over the previous quarter due to improved residential local access line retention and Fibe TV pull-through. Bell EBITDA increased 6.6% in the quarter on the strength of wireless EBITDA growth (up 13%), the positive impact of the CTV acquisition and improved wireline operating costs.

"The Bell team's successful execution of our Strategic Imperatives resulted in solid Q1 financial performance, with significant growth in Bell revenue and EBITDA reflecting especially strong contributions by Bell Wireless and Bell Media," said George Cope, President and CEO of Bell Canada and BCE. "We look forward to welcoming Montreal-based Astral Media to the Bell team later this year as Bell works to expand our media leadership, delivering the best content across the best networks to any broadband screens our customers choose."

"Bell's strategic investments in world-leading network technology and Canada's best content continue to drive steady growth in our Fibe TV and broadband mobile services. In Q1, we increased our smartphone customers and mobile data revenue significantly as we continued to roll out our new 4G LTE mobile network and enhance our industry-leading Bell Mobile TV service. And with next-generation Fibe TV coverage expanded to 2.2 million homes across Québec City, Montréal and Toronto, Fibe TV customer additions more than tripled over last year. The popularity of Fibe TV is improving performance in our other residential services too, as almost 9 out of 10 new Fibe TV customers also chose both Bell Internet and Bell Home Phone," said Mr. Cope.

Bell is committed to 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 and Services, Accelerate Wireless, Leverage Wireline Momentum, Expand Media Leadership, Improve Customer Service, and Achieve a Competitive Cost Structure.

"Our execution in the first quarter demonstrated a solid start to the year, highlighted by strong wireless performance, stabilizing Business Markets performance, continued competitive price discounting in residential wireline, and Media results that delivered a strong contribution to earnings and cash flow. With healthy year-over-year growth in EBITDA, Adjusted EPS and Free Cash Flow in Q1, our 2012 financial plan is on track as we reconfirm today all our Bell and BCE guidance targets for the year," said Siim Vanaselja, Chief Financial Officer for Bell and BCE. "Our continued strong earnings and Free Cash Flow generation provides solid support for BCE's 2012 increased dividend, all underpinned by a sound balance sheet and credit metrics. Additionally, our pending acquisition of Astral, expected to close in the second half of the year, will be EPS and cash flow accretive in 2013 - positioning us well to continue executing on our dividend growth objective going forward."