Telus launch drives client signups

Article Excerpt

TELUS CORP. $48 (Toronto symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 601.0 million; Market cap: $28.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 4.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.telus.com) added 154,000 new wireless subscribers (net of cancellations) in the three months ended June 30, 2019; it now has 9.89 million subscribers. The latest gain also represents a 45.3% increase from 106,000 a year earlier. The jump is partly due the launch of unlimited wireless data plans in response to similar offers from other carriers. Eliminating data overcharges will probably cut the company’s wireless revenue by 4% to 5%. However, increased satisfaction should help Telus hang on to more of its customers: in the first half of 2019, its overall churn rate, which shows how many new and long-term wireless subscribers cancelled their service, improved to 1.01% from 1.04% a year earlier. Fewer complaints should also cut expenses at its call centres. Telus is a buy. buy. …