BCE earnings rise 53% on smartphones, media properties

BCE Inc. says profits were up nearly 53 per cent in the fourth quarter as it benefited from an increase in smartphone sales and its acquisition of national television broadcaster CTV.

Canada's largest telecom company reported earnings of $486 million, or 62 cents per share, up from $318 million, or 42 cents per share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, earnings rose 5.1 per cent to 62 cents per share, falling short of analyst expectations by four cents a share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Revenues increased 10.4 per cent to $5.17 billion, from $4.68 billion a year earlier, but missing analyst predictions of $5.2 billion.

Wireless growth

At Bell Canada, the company's main subsidiary, operating revenues increased 12.6 per cent to $4.58 billion, from $4.07 billion, as the results from the purchase of CTV boosted the company's new Bell Media unit where revenues were $578 million.

Bell's "broadband networks, products and content are delivering strong revenue and EBITDA increases, led by growth at Bell Wireless and Bell Media and fast-accelerating Bell Fibe TV additions," said president and CEO George Cope in a release.    Last year, BCE was given regulatory approval to purchase the rest of the CTV assets that it didn't already own.

Bell Canada added 132,000 valuable post-paid subscribers, who sign contracts for multiple years. Mobile revenue was up 6 per cent, as spending on wireless data rose 32 per cent.

Aside from wireless and landline telephone services, broadband Internet and satellite TV, it also owns a stable of media properties including the CTV television network. BCE is also using the content from the CTV network on its mobile phones.

Dividend hike

The telecom company announced in December that it was raising its annual dividend by five per cent to $2.17 per share for 2012. It's the seventh increase in the past three years, and payouts will begin in BCE's first-quarter payout on April 15.   

BCE is a longtime staple in investment portfolios designed to profit from steady growth companies with a solidly dependable dividend.

BCE has also said it will buy back as much as $250 million worth of its own stock to increase its share price and it plans to make a voluntary $750 million payment on its defined benefit pension plan.