Rogers Communications reported a 2% revenue growth to $3.2 billion, and an adjusted operating profit up 4% for the year ended Sept. 30, 2013, in its third quarter results released Thursday.
The 2% growth was attributed to a 4% revenue growth in cable, 8% in business solutions and 12% in media, compared to Q3 last year, partly offset by a 2% decline in wireless revenue. That decline was due to the introduction of lower priced roaming plans and pricing changes.
Rogers Communications president and CEO Nadir Mohamed said the company saw strong data growth across its wireless and broadband cable platforms, and expanding margins in those segments. Mohamed added that the company made “significant investments” in its networks, media brands and service infrastructure in Q3.
Rival Shaw Communications reported consolidated revenue growth for both its fourth quarter and year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Q4 revenue was reported as $1.25 billion, up from $1.21 billion the previous year, while fiscal year revenue was reported as $5.14 billion, up from almost $5 billion the previous year.
The company’s cable and satellite revenues both grew in Q4 and the fiscal year. In the cable division, Shaw reported $3.27 billion in revenue for the fiscal year, up 2% over the previous year, while satellite revenue for the fiscal year grew from $844 million to $860 million. Revenue growth in the cable division was attributed to rate increases, while the growth in the satellite division was offset by operating costs, including those related to the company’s new Anik G1 satellite.
Elsewhere, Corus Entertainment in its fiscal Q4 and year-end results reported an increase in specialty advertising revenues, up 6% in Q4 and 2% for the fiscal year.
Revenue for the three months ended Aug. 31, 2013, was down 1% to $193.6 million from 195.6 million the previous year, attributed to a decline in the radio division and higher corporate costs. For the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013, revenues were down 5%, from $842.3 million last year to $803.5 million this year.
While the television segment’s revenues increased 1% in Q4, they decreased by 5% for the fiscal year. Corus reported a 1% increase in subscriber revenues for Q4 (flat for the fiscal year), with Movie Central finishing the year at 996,000 subscribers, up 20,000 from the previous year.
“Fiscal 2013 was a challenging year, but we made progress on a number of fronts, creating the foundation for strong growth moving forward. We were pleased to see an increase in specialty advertising revenue across all of our core television networks, ongoing ratings momentum and continued gains in our pay television business,” said Corus Entertainment president and CEO John Cassaday in a statement.