Telus Gains From Wireless

Article Excerpt

TELUS CORP. $54.34 (Toronto symbol T.A; SI Rating: Above average) is the main provider of telephone service in Alberta, British Columbia and parts of Quebec, with roughly 4.5 million customers. It also operates a national wireless service under the Telus Mobility banner. In the three months ended September 30, 2006, strong gains in Telus’ wireless operations pushed earnings up 73.6%, to $0.92 a share from $0.53 a year earlier. Revenue rose 7.3%, to $2.21 billion from $2.06 billion. Telus’s high exposure to wireless helps cut its reliance on its traditional phone business, which is facing growing competition from cable companies and Internet-based phone services. These strong results let Telus raise its quarterly dividend by 36.4%, to $0.375 a share from $0.275. The new annual rate of $1.50 yields 2.8%. Telus is still a buy. buy…