Manitoba Telecom Services reports 2Q profit slide

Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) reported a drop in net profit for the second quarter of 2009, reflecting a fall in turnover attributed mainly to its Enterprise Solutions division and restructuring costs. Net income for the three-month period ended 30 June declined to CAD30 million (USD28 million) from CAD38 million in the previous year, as operating revenues fell to CAD464 million compared to CAD486 million in 2Q08. MTS’s Consumer Markets division achieved a slight (CAD3 million) increase in revenues year-on-year to CAD208 million. Restructuring and transition expenses for the quarter increased to CAD19 million from CAD10 million last year. The Manitoban telco had 179,000 high speed internet customers by end-June 2009, up 3.6% year-on-year, whilst it also reported a 9% year-over-year increase in broadband ARPU, and its IPTV subscriber base increased by 4.2% y-o-y, reaching 83,677 subscribers at mid-year. At the same date its wireless subscriber base reached 446,000, growing by 9.3% over the year. Wireless ARPU of CAD56 was down by 0.9% y-o-y.