Big Telus investments continue to pay off

Article Excerpt

TELUS CORP. $47 (Toronto symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares o/s: 598.2 million; Market cap: $28.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.telus.com) has 9.15 million subscribers and is Canada’s third-largest wireless carrier after Rogers (No. 1) and Bell Mobility (No. 2). Telus’s wireless business supplies about 55% of its revenue and 70% of its earnings. The remaining 45% of the company’s revenue and 30% of its earnings comes from its wireline business. That operation has 1.3 million landline phone customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec as well as 1.8 million Internet users and 1.1 million TV customers. Between 2013 and 2017, Telus spent $13.1 billion on upgrades to its wireless networks and operations. It likely spent $2.85 billion in 2018 and will spend the same in 2019. Better networks spur revenue, earnings Network improvements help lift demand for Telus’s wireless and digital services. As a result, revenue rose from $11.4 billion in 2013 to $13.3…