Telus Corp.

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BCE INC., $42.86, Toronto symbol BCE, has failed to win regulatory approval for its $3.4-billion deal to buy Astral Media Inc. (Toronto symbols ACM.A and ACM.B). Montreal-based Astral owns 22 TV stations, 84 radio stations and several pay TV and specialty channels, such as the Movie Network, Family Channel and Teletoon. It also owns billboards and sells other outdoor advertising in Quebec, Ontario and B.C. Regulators felt the purchase would give BCE an overwhelming share of the TV broadcast market, which would hurt competition....

TELUS CORP., Toronto symbols T $62.71 and T.A $61.52, has paid an undisclosed sum for KinLogix. This Quebec-based private company makes software that lets medical professionals store patient records on remote server computers. KinLogix already serves over 200 clinics and accounts for 36% of Quebec’s electronic medical records market. Telus’s health care-related operations are much smaller than its main wireless and regular telephone divisions. However, demand for reliable electronic record storage is growing steadily. Telus’s strong reputation should help KinLogix attract more clients....

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TELUS CORP. (Toronto symbols T $63 and T.A $62; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 325.8 million; Market cap: $20.4 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.telus.com) continues to expand its wireless business. Its 7.4 million subscribers across Canada now supply 53% of its revenue and 63% of earnings.

The remaining 47% of Telus’s revenue and 37% of its earnings come from its wireline division, which mainly consists of 3.5 million traditional phone customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec. This business also includes 1.3 million Internet users and 595,000 TV customers.

Telus’s revenue rose 6.4%, from $9.1 billion in 2007 to $9.7 billion in 2008, mainly on rising wireless demand. Revenue slipped 0.5%, to $9.6 billion, in 2009 because Telus cut its prices to compete with new entrants in the wireless market. However, revenue rebounded to $9.8 billion in 2010, and to $10.4 billion in 2011.

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Over the past 10 years, Telus has spent over $16.5 billion on upgrades to its telecommunication networks. Thanks to these investments, wireless subscribers jumped to 7.4 million from 2.6 million, while high-speed Internet users soared to 1.2 million from 215,000. These gains have helped it offset a drop in traditional phone customers, to 3.5 million from 5.0 million. These upgrades are the main reason why Telus’s stock has soared 480% for us in the past decade. Even so, we feel it still has lots of growth ahead. That’s because ongoing investments in its networks will help Telus attract more new customers. TELUS CORP. (Toronto symbols T $63 and T.A $62; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 325.8 million; Market cap: $20.4 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.telus.com) continues to expand its wireless business. Its 7.4 million subscribers across Canada now supply 53% of its revenue and 63% of earnings....

TELUS $62.14 (Toronto symbol T.A; Shares outstanding: 324.9 million; Market cap: $20.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.telus.com) has revived its plan to merge its common shares (one vote per share) and its non-voting class A shares into a single class of common shares. Investors will vote on the plan at a special meeting on October 17, 2012. Telus cancelled a vote on the proposal that was scheduled for May 2012 because it felt it had little chance of winning. That’s because U.S.-based hedge fund Mason Capital, which now owns around 19% of Telus’s common shares and a small portion of the non-voting shares, said it would vote against the plan....

TELUS CORP., Toronto symbols T $64.00 and T.A $62.68, has revived its plan to merge its common shares (one vote per share) and its non-voting class A shares into a single class. Under the terms of the proposal, each non-voting share will become one common share. Investors in each share class, voting separately, must approve the plan at a special meeting on October 17, 2012. The company cancelled a vote on the proposal that was scheduled for May 2012 because it felt it had little chance of winning. That’s because U.S.-based hedge fund Mason Capital, which now owns around 19% of Telus’s common shares and a small portion of the non-voting shares, said it would vote against the plan. Mason is using a complex stock-trading strategy that would let it lock in a profit if shareholders reject the proposal....

TELUS $61.56 (Toronto symbol T.A; Shares outstanding: 324.9 million; Market cap: $20.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.telus.com) gets 52% of its earnings from its growing wireless business, which now has 7.4 million subscribers across Canada.

The remaining 48% of Telus’s earnings come from its wireline division, which has 3.5 million traditional phone customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec. This business also has 1.3 million Internet users and 553,000 TV customers.

In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Telus’s earnings per share rose 6.0%, to $1.06 from $1.00 a year earlier. Rising demand for wireless and high-speed Internet services helped push up revenue by 4.0%, to $2.6 billion from $2.5 billion.

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Telus is facing rising competition from new wireless providers, cable companies and web-based phone services. However, the company continues to make big investments in its networks. That will help it hang on to its current customers and attract new ones. TELUS $61.56 (Toronto symbol T.A; Shares outstanding: 324.9 million; Market cap: $20.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.telus.com) gets 52% of its earnings from its growing wireless business, which now has 7.4 million subscribers across Canada. The remaining 48% of Telus’s earnings come from its wireline division, which has 3.5 million traditional phone customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec. This business also has 1.3 million Internet users and 553,000 TV customers....