The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc.'s fourth-quarter sales fell compared with a year earlier amid lower wireless revenue. The cable and wireless company saw an eight per cent drop in wireless service revenue which fell because of global travel restrictions and lower overage revenue as customers continued to adopt unlimited data plans. "The (COVID-19) pandemic continues to impact roaming revenue, with most travel still paused and no immigration growth as borders are essentially closed," said chief executive Joe Natale. Rogers has a large base of iPhone users, and Apple said this week that iPhone sales worldwide were up 17 per cent from a year ago in the fourth quarter. But Rogers executives said that lockdowns in Ontario and Quebec over Boxing Day offset strong Black Friday sales. "Our ability to transact online was, I would say, not terrific a year ago. Right now, I think it's very good," said Natale. "The ability to order online, pick up in store, have it delivered to your doorstep, these are all things that the team worked hard to make happen through last year." Cable revenue rose three per cent despite the fourth quarter being "traditionally quieter," as customers spent more time at home. Media revenue fell 23 per cent due to the postponement of the start of the 2020-2021 NHL and NBA seasons and softness in the advertising market. The company didn't give detailed guidance for its 2021 financial outlook, citing uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic. Natale cited the Toronto Blue Jays as a "major swing factor" for the media business and it was part of the reason the company held back on giving guidance. "If they play in Toronto, there are more advertising revenues ... if there are audiences, then that's a huge potential for additional revenues, even if it's a quarter or a third of ticket sales," said Natale. "So to the extent that they end up playing, not in Toronto, and back in Buffalo, or somewhere else, then what we're gonna see is a significant drag on our media business." Overall, Rogers earned $449 million or 89 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, down from $468 million or 92 cents per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter totalled $3.68 billion, down from $3.95 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019. On an adjusted basis, Rogers says it earned 99 cents per diluted share for the quarter, down from $1 per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 98 cents per share for the quarter, according to financial data firm Refinitiv. Drew McReynolds, an analyst at RBC Dominion Securities Inc., said in a client note that Rogers reported a strong quarter its cable business, writing that strong profit margins help soften the blow of weaker revenue-per-user in the wireless business. On the call with analysts, executives said Rogers has been providing more of its customer service through technology, which has brought down its costs. The company says more customers now opt for the self-installation process, and that Rogers has built out artificial intelligence tools to proactively find and fix issues on the network. Natale said the transition to 5G has encouraged Rogers to launch its unlimited plans, as customers demanded more data, and would not be able to take advantage of 5G service and gaming apps if they faced overage fees. "Given some of the capabilities of 5G architecture, we have a better ability to deliver a gig of data at a better unit cost. Canada sits at three gigs a month on average in the U.S. is closer to 10, and Korea's closer to 30 gigs a month," said Natale. "We're on that path." — With a file from The Associated Press. The Canadian Press
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