Quebecor revenues up 5% in Q1

While mobile services continue to power business growth, the company pointed to its SVOD service, Club illico, as another high-performance area.

money - from shutterstockQuebecor has reported a 5% increase in revenue for its most recent quarter.

Total revenue for the Quebec-based telecom and media company was $975.4 million in the first quarter of 2016, up $46.4 million. The company pointed to performance in its mobile division, which was up 20% in the quarter, as powering the growth, contributing to a $28.2 million revenue increase in its telecom division.

The company, however, also pointed to its SVOD service, Club illico, as another bright area. It added almost 80,000 subscribers in the last 12 months (a 42% increase) and revenues of $2.3 million.

Its Videotron Ltd. saw significant revenue gains in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period a year ago, with Club illico up 42.6% or $2.3 million.

Videotron president and CEO Manon Brouillette pointed to the company’s recently inked deal with NBCUniversal Television & New Media Distribution Canada as reason to believe that number will continue to grow, as the deal will add a number of NBCUniversal titles to the service’s offering.

Videotron’s average monthly revenue per user increased $9.41 from $131.96 in the first quarter of 2015 to $141.37 at the end of this quarter.

Quebecor’s Media division also saw revenue gains of $6 million (or 2.8%), with revenues for Mels Studios and Postproduction G.P up 52% (“generating a $2.1 million improvement in adjusted operating income,” said Julie Tremblay, president and CEO of Media Group, in the report) and its flagship reality show, La Voix, continuing to dominate provincial ratings.

The singing-competition series drew an average audience of 2.6 million and a market share of 58%, with traffic to the series’ website up 54%.