Valuation gap adds to telecoms’ appeal

Article Excerpt

Traditional telecommunications service providers, such as Telus and BCE, are trading at substantially lower valuations than other “infrastructure” type companies. This is not only true for Canadian companies, but also for U.S. and other similar companies in Europe. Infrastructure-type companies such as telecommunications, pipeline, utility, and railroad companies delivered comparable financial results over the past 5 years—so this provides no explanation for the significant valuation differences. We consider telecommunication companies as undervalued relative to similar infrastructure-type businesses. Similar performance characteristics Although there are obvious differences between Canadian firms that provide telecommunication services, utilities, railway operations, or pipelines, they could all be considered to have significant barriers to entry. These barriers include regulatory licensing requirements, as well as large capital requirements to establish and maintain their businesses. These characteristics generally provide a level of protection against competition, high levels of profitability, and strong cash flows over the medium to long term. However, as these companies are normally large and mature, growth tends to be slow. To…