BCE Inc.
Toronto symbol BCE, provides local and long distance telephone services in Ontario and Quebec. It also operates a nationwide wireless service.
BELL ALIANT INC. $27.96 (Toronto symbol BA; Shares outstanding: 227.8 million; Market cap: $6.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 6.8%; www.aliant.ca) sells phone and Internet services to 2.5 million customers in Atlantic Canada and rural Ontario and Quebec. It also sells wireless services through an alliance with BCE, which owns 44% of Bell Aliant.
The company continues to replace copper wires with fibre optic cable. That’s attracting more highspeed Internet and digital TV customers. Strong demand for these services is also helping offset lower revenue from traditional phone services.
Bell Aliant’s high-speed fibre optic systems now reach 679,000 homes, up from 516,000 a year ago. By the end of 2013, it plans to expand its network to 800,000 homes.
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The company continues to replace copper wires with fibre optic cable. That’s attracting more highspeed Internet and digital TV customers. Strong demand for these services is also helping offset lower revenue from traditional phone services.
Bell Aliant’s high-speed fibre optic systems now reach 679,000 homes, up from 516,000 a year ago. By the end of 2013, it plans to expand its network to 800,000 homes.
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TELUS $31.68 (Toronto symbol T; Shs. o/s: 653.8 million; Market cap: $20.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.telus.com) has 7.7 million wireless subscribers across Canada, and gets much more of its revenue from wireless than BCE (54% compared to BCE’s 32%—see left).
Telus gets the remaining 46% of its revenue from its traditional phone business, which has 3.4 million customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec. Telus also has 1.3 million Internet subscribers and 712,000 Telus TV subscribers.
In the three months ended March 31, 2013, Telus’s earnings per share rose 14.3%, to $0.56 from $0.49 a year earlier. Revenue rose 4.8%, to $2.76 billion from $2.63 billion.
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Telus gets the remaining 46% of its revenue from its traditional phone business, which has 3.4 million customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec. Telus also has 1.3 million Internet subscribers and 712,000 Telus TV subscribers.
In the three months ended March 31, 2013, Telus’s earnings per share rose 14.3%, to $0.56 from $0.49 a year earlier. Revenue rose 4.8%, to $2.76 billion from $2.63 billion.
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BCE INC. $42.68 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 775.9 million; Market cap: $33.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.5%; www.bce.ca) is Canada’s largest provider of telephone, Internet and wireless services. It also sells satellite and Internet TV services across the country.
In the three months ended March 31, 2013, BCE’s earnings per share rose 11.6%, to $0.77 from $0.69 a year earlier. Revenue increased slightly, to $4.35 billion from $4.33 billion. Revenue fell 2.8% at the wireline (land line) division, which accounts for 58% of total revenue. This division faces rising competition. As well, many customers are cancelling land lines and switching to wireless devices.
Revenue from wireless services (32% of total revenue) rose 6.3%. The company’s network upgrades continue to attract new wireless subscribers, and it’s benefiting from rising use of smartphones, which generate higher monthly fees than regular cellphones. Bell’s Fibe high-speed Internet TV service also offers strong growth prospects.
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In the three months ended March 31, 2013, BCE’s earnings per share rose 11.6%, to $0.77 from $0.69 a year earlier. Revenue increased slightly, to $4.35 billion from $4.33 billion. Revenue fell 2.8% at the wireline (land line) division, which accounts for 58% of total revenue. This division faces rising competition. As well, many customers are cancelling land lines and switching to wireless devices.
Revenue from wireless services (32% of total revenue) rose 6.3%. The company’s network upgrades continue to attract new wireless subscribers, and it’s benefiting from rising use of smartphones, which generate higher monthly fees than regular cellphones. Bell’s Fibe high-speed Internet TV service also offers strong growth prospects.
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Income Streams III Corp equity dividend shares, $7.28, symbol STQ.E on Toronto; (Units outstanding: 1.4 million; Market cap: $10.2 million; www.quadravest.com), is a split-share company with two types of shares: equity dividend (symbol STQ.E on Toronto) and capital yield (symbol STQ on Toronto). Split-share companies typically issue two classes of shares. Usually the capital shares get all or most of the capital gains and losses, and the preferred shares (or equity dividend shares in the case of Income Streams III Corp) get most of the dividend income. In the case of Income Streams III Corp, the equity dividend shares receive a fixed monthly dividend of $0.0875 a share ($1.05 annually). That gives them a 14.4% yield....
BCE INC. $43 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 775.9 million; Market cap: $33.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 5.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) has completed its $3.2-billion purchase of Astral Media, which owns 22 TV stations, 84 radio stations and several pay TV and specialty channels, such as the Movie Network, Family Channel and Teletoon.
To win approval for the takeover, BCE agreed to sell several of Astral’s specialty TV channels and radio stations....
To win approval for the takeover, BCE agreed to sell several of Astral’s specialty TV channels and radio stations....
TELUS (Toronto symbol T; www.telus.com) has 7.7 million wireless subscribers across Canada. It gets much more of its revenue from wireless than major competitor BCE—54% compared to BCE’s 32%. Telus gets the remaining 46% of its revenue from its traditional phone business, which has 3.4 million customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec. Telus also has 1.3 million Internet subscribers and 712,000 Telus TV subscribers....
Verizon Communications (New York symbol VZ) has announced that it’s interested in buying two small Canadian wireless carriers: Wind Mobile and Mobilicity. Verizon is a recommendation of Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on U.S. stocks. Wind and Mobilicity both have negligible market share, so regulators will probably approve a sale....
TELUS $31.68 (Toronto symbol T; Shs. o/s: 653.8 million; Market cap: $20.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.telus.com) has 7.7 million wireless subscribers across Canada, and gets much more of its revenue from wireless than BCE (54% compared to BCE’s 32%—see left).
Telus gets the remaining 46% of its revenue from its traditional phone business, which has 3.4 million customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec....
Telus gets the remaining 46% of its revenue from its traditional phone business, which has 3.4 million customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec....
BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTNERS L.P. $29.20 (Toronto symbol BEP.UN; Units outstanding: 265.2 million; Market cap: $7.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.0%; www.brpfund.com) owns 196 hydroelectric generating stations, 11 wind farms and two natural-gas-fired plants....
BLACKBERRY INC., $11.08, Toronto symbol BB, fell 26% on Friday after the company reported lower-than-expected earnings. In its 2014 first quarter, which ended June 1, 2013, BlackBerry shipped 6.8 million smartphones, down 12.8% from 7.8 million a year ago. The latest quarter’s shipments included 2.7 million of its new, higher-priced BlackBerry 10 models, which fell short of the consensus estimate of 3.3 million. BlackBerry also lost $84 million, or $0.16 a share (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). Still, that’s a big improvement over the $510 million, or $0.97 a share, it lost a year earlier....