The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, August 7, 2015

Article Excerpt

BCE INC., $54.14, Toronto symbol BCE, continues to see strong demand for its wireless, high-speed Internet and Fibe TV services. In the three months ended June 30, 2015, the company’s earnings rose 14.8%, to $735 million from $640 million a year earlier. Per-share profits gained just 6.1%, to $0.87 from $0.82, on more shares outstanding. These figures exclude unusual items, such as costs to integrate BCE’s November 2014 purchase of the 56% of Bell Aliant it didn’t already own. On that basis, the latest earnings matched the consensus estimate. Revenue rose 2.0%, to $5.33 billion from $5.22 billion, beating the consensus forecast of $5.31 billion. The company added 61,033 new wireless subscribers under long-term contracts, net of cancellations. That exceeded the consensus forecast of 56,000. Most of these customers use smartphones, which generate higher monthly fees than regular cellphones. BCE ended the quarter with 8.1 million wireless subscribers, including 7.2 million under long-term agreements. Meantime, BCE continues to see strong demand for its TV offerings:…