BCE fourth quarter net income down on flat revenues

Canadian telco BCE has reported that fourth quarter earnings fell 3% as revenue growth at subsidiaries Bell Canada and Bell Aliant was offset by lower sales from Telesat and higher restructuring costs. The company, currently in the midst of a proposed takeover by an investor group led by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, said that quarterly operator income slipped to CAD727 million (USD722 million), down from CAD752 million a year ago, on the back of largely unchanged total revenues of CAD4.6 billion. Despite some doubts surfacing over whether the investor group can raise the money for the CAD52 billion takeover, BCE said yesterday that it expects the transaction to close in April 2008.