Sales and profits up 10% at Shaw

Calgary-based cableco Shaw Communications reported a 10% increase in its fiscal first quarter net profit compared with a year ago. Net income for the three months ended 30 November 2008 reached CAD123.1 million (USD98.5 million) on revenue that also grew 10% year-on-year to CAD817.5 million. During the quarter basic cable subscribers increased by 9,000 to 2.257 million, cable broadband internet customers grew by 31,000 to 1.597 million, and digital phone lines were up 57,000 to 669,000. TeleGeography estimates that Shaw’s customer figures put it in third place narrowly behind Rogers Communications in the Canadian fixed broadband internet market; Rogers had 1.597 million residential and business high speed lines in service at the end of September 2008, behind Bell Canada with 2.046 million.