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Ottawa rejects Rogers’s original bid for access to Shaw’s wireless frequencies

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Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Tuesday the federal government has officially denied a request to allow Rogers wholesale access to Shaw’s wireless frequencies — but he also laid out conditions for a revamped proposal.

Federal approval is one of the hurdles that Rogers Communications Inc.’s proposed $26-billion merger with Shaw Communications Inc. needs to clear.

The original proposal would have seen Rogers acquire Freedom Mobile from Shaw. But Canada’s Competition Bureau said in May that the acquisition would eliminate “an established, independent and low-priced” competitor and would also prevent existing competition in wireless services in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, where Freedom currently operates.

 

Industry minister denies request to permit wholesale transfer of wireless spectrum licenses between Shaw and Rogers

 

Francois-Philippe Champagne says he will always support more competition and make wireless services more affordable to Canadians.

Champagne announced he officially rejected that proposal on Tuesday.

“My only concern is to provide better prices to Canadians,” he told a press conference.

In an effort to quell those concerns, the two companies finalized an agreement to sell Freedom Mobile to Videotron, a unit of Quebecor Inc., in August.

Champange said that in order for him to approve the merger under that agreement, he needs a commitment from Videotron to maintain the wireless licences acquired from Shaw for at least 10 years.

The minister also said he wants to see the company offer customers in Ontario, Alberta and B.C. wireless rates comparable to what they currently offer in Quebec, which he said are on average 20 per cent lower.

“I think they better take notice of what I’m going to be looking at and these two things are going to be fundamental,” Champagne told the press conference.

The revamped merger agreement will have to go to Canada’s Competition Bureau before it is once again put before the industry minister.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved Rogers Communications Inc.’s acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc.’s broadcasting services in March.

CBC reached out to Rogers for a statement but the company said it would not comment at this time.

Last week, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on the government to reject the Rogers-Shaw merger outright, even if it is cleared by the Competition Bureau.

“If Rogers and Shaw succeed, it will only be because the Competition Act is weak and because your government has failed to step up and act in the interest of making life more affordable for everyday Canadians,” Singh wrote.

“Stopping this merger is the only outcome that protects Canadians.”

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Canada Goose reports Q2 revenue down from year ago, trims full-year guidance

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TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.

The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.

Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.

It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GOOS)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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