MONTREAL 鈥� BCE Inc. reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue edged higher.
The parent company of Bell Canada says it earned a profit attributable to common shareholders of $640 million or 70 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30.
The result compared with a profit of $715 million or 78 cents per share a year earlier.
BCE reported operating revenue totalled $6.08 billion, up from $6.02 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 81 cents per share in its latest quarter, down from 88 cents per share a year ago.
The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share, based on estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.
鈥淏ell鈥檚 Q3 results reflect the positive outcome of our significant investments in broadband networks and services, a clear preference by our customers for fibre, continued momentum in our core operations, and cost containment and discipline," said Bell Canada president and CEO Mirko Bibic in a press release.
The company added 142,886 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 14.8 per cent from the same period last year, but representing what Bell said was its second best third-quarter result for the metric since 2010.
Its monthly churn rate for the category 鈥� a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service 鈥� was 1.1 per cent, up from 0.9 per cent during its previous third quarter, reflecting greater overall market activity and more promotional pricing offers in the market.
Bell's wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $60.28, down 11 cents from the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)
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