Rogers Communications is reporting a slip in revenue and profit for the first quarter of this year in the face of fierce competition in its cable and wireless divisions.
Adjusted profit came in at $356 million, down from $423 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue also came in slightly lower at $2.95 billion, compared with $2.99 billion in the same period in 2011.
Analysts had estimated revenue of $3.05 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2012.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share for Rogers were down to 67 cents versus 76 cents year-over-year, the Toronto-based telecom company said Tuesday. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had estimated 76 cents in EPS for the quarter.
Postpaid wireless net subscriber additions for the quarter were 47,000 – a category generally includes customers on lucrative three-year contracts for iPhone, BlackBerry or Android smartphones – beating some analysts’ expectations. That compares with 45,000 in the same quarter in 2011.
Rogers said the quarter’s wireless net subscriber additions included a 35 percent increase in iPhone activations, and it added that it has stabilized churn in this category.
UBS analyst Phillip Huang had estimated 36,000 postpaid subscribers in the quarter.
Competition has been fierce in the wireless industry among Rogers, Bell and Telus, as well as new players like Wind Mobile, Mobilicity and Public Mobile.
Rogers said cable customers were down 7,000 in a seasonally slow and highly competitive quarter. The company reported a net add of 13,000 broadband subscribers and 1,000 VoIP subscribers.
“Our performance in the first quarter was highlighted by strong postpaid wireless smartphone sales and customer retention metrics, as well as continued solid margins in both our wireless and cable businesses,” CEO Nadir Mohamed said.
Mohamed noted the effects of competition that impacted its wireless and cable divisions in the quarter.
Rogers has more 9 nine million wireless subscribers.
The company is also Canada’s largest cable TV operator, a major magazine publisher, a TV and radio broadcaster, and owner of the Toronto Blue Jays.
In February, the company raised its quarterly dividend 11 percent to 39.5 cents as it reported stronger fourth-quarter profits.
It laid off about 300 employees across its operations in March, with the cuts focused on management and head office positions.
Last December, Rogers and Bell Canada teamed up on a $1.07 billion bid for a majority stake in the country’s biggest sports franchise company, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
The move will help feed consumers’ growing demand for sports content on smartphones, tablets and other devices.