MTS Allstream’s sales dip by CAD2m

Manitoba-based telco MTS Allstream has posted consolidated revenue of CAD431.6 million (USD341 million) for the three months ended 30 June 2012, a drop of CAD2 million compared to the same period last year, as moderate growth at the group’s Manitoba fixed and mobile division was offset by a dip in sales at its nationwide Allstream carrier and corporate telecoms division. In its home province, MTS’s operating revenues rose 1.6% to CAD246.8 million in the second quarter, but IP-based communications provider Allstream’s turnover slumped by 8% to CAD193.5 million, largely due to what the firm said were planned legacy revenue declines due to a strategy of exiting low-margin lines of business and legacy contracts. In Manitoba, post-paid mobile customers increased by 3.8% year-on-year to 397,000, while blended ARPU climbed 3.9% to CAD60.34 on the back of a 24.8% jump in mobile data revenue; 50.5% of post-paid users had data plans at end-June 2012, up from 36.2% a year earlier.