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Competition among Canadian telecom companies has been heating
up, sparked by deals including Shaw Communications Inc's
acquisition of Wind Mobile, the country's fourth-largest
wireless provider, and Rogers Communications Inc's
C$465-million purchase of smaller rival Mobilicity.
Telus on Monday entered an agreement with rival BCE Inc to buy
one-third of Manitoba Telecom Services' (MTS) post-paid wireless
subscribers, after BCE completes its deal to buy MTS.
Vancouver-based Telus said on Thursday it would sell the stake
in Telus International to Baring Private Equity Asia for
proceeds of about C$600 million ($467.14 million), in a deal
valuing the unit at C$1.2 billion.
The company also posted a lower profit due to higher costs,
sagging demand in Alberta, Canada's oil producing hub, and
fierce competition for wireless customers.
Telus's net income fell to C$378 million, or 64 Canadian cents
per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from C$415
million, or 68 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.
However, operating revenue rose to C$3.11 billion from C$3.03
billion, helped by growth in wireless and wireline operations.
Blended churn rate, or the number of customer cancellations, in
the quarter was the company's lowest first quarter churn rate in
16 years, Telus said.
(Reporting by Anet Josline Pinto in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shounak Dasgupta)
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