Rogers Communications’ bottom line turned a lighter shade of red last year, according to the 1994 annual report quietly released at the end of last month.

Rogers 1994 net loss was tabled at $168 million, down from $287 million in 1993. The loss looks somewhat less significant when last year’s one-time costs, which included the purchase of 100% of Maclean Hunter shares last April for approximately $3 billion, aren’t factored into the equation. Excluding the non-recurring charges, the telecommunications giant’s net loss was $126.1 million in 1994, down from $182.4 million in 1993.

Rogers 1994 revenue, excluding Unitel, was $2.25 billion, an increase of 68.4% from $1.34 billion in 1993. The former mh properties Rogers is holding onto contributed $688.4 million to the revenue base. Excluding mh properties, revenue from Rogers’ operations increased 16.5% from $1.34 billion in 1993 to $1.56 billion in 1994.

Operating income, before depreciation and amortization, increased to $711.1 million, up 58.2% from $449.5 million in 1993. Excluding the $125.7 million in income from mh properties, the combined Rogers properties had a 30% increase in operating income to $585.4 million.

Rogers’ share of the massive Unitel losses increased to $76.9 million in 1994 from $66.4 million in 1993. However, this number does not include losses on Rogers’ $113.3 million one-time investment in Unitel’s network enhancement plan, and write-offs incurred since the initial investment. Including this number in the results, Rogers’ share of the Unitel loss was $190.2 million in 1994.

In the mh buyout last year, Rogers assumed $490 million of mh’s outstanding debt. In a selling bonanza that began at the end of last year, Rogers will sell mh assets totaling $2.2 billion. cfcn-tv Calgary is slated for sale this year, as per the crtc conditions in granting the mh acquisition.

Izzy Asper, chairman and ceo of CanWest Global who is watching cfcn ‘with more than just a passing interest,’ says the property hasn’t been formally put up for sale yet.