Our top telecoms are ready for a growth spurt

Article Excerpt

BCE and Telus are high-quality firms with businesses that were well-prepared to withstand the COVID-19 slowdown. Longer term, the recent launch of their new ultrafast 5G wireless networks provides strong growth prospects and should boost their cash flow to pay for dividend increases. TELUS, $27.51 (Toronto symbol T; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $37.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.6%; www.telus.com) gives you a stake in a wireless business that has 10.8 million subscribers. It also has 1.2 million landline phone customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec as well as 2.2 million Internet users and 1.2 million TV customers. Telus’s revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2021, rose 8.9%, to $4.02 billion from $3.69 billion a year earlier. The COVID-19 lockdowns have spurred strong demand for the company’s home Internet services. Earnings per share in the latest quarter fell 15.6%, to $0.27 from $0.32. The lower earnings are mainly due to additional costs related to COVID-19 and…