Bell Aliant Inc. increased its net profit to $92 million in the third quarter as the telecom operator continued to expand its network for high-speed internet and internet Protocol TV services.
The almost 22% increase in quarterly profit was due to lower restructuring charges and compared with a net profit of $76 million in the same quarter last year, Bell Aliant said Tuesday.
“I am very pleased that more and more customers are coming on board and experiencing our great FibreOP TV and internet services,” chief executive officer Karen Sheriff said in a news release.
Sheriff said Bell Aliant has more than 100,000 IPTV customers and IPTV was the company’s largest area of revenue growth in the quarter.
Bell Aliant’s earnings per share were 40 cents and adjusted earnings per share were 47 cents. Revenues dipped slightly to $697 million, down three million from the same quarter in 2011.
Sheriff said Bell Aliant’s fibre optic network, which provides high-speed internet and high definition TV services, is starting to make a difference in the company’s overall results. IPTV revenues were up $10 million in the quarter, she said.
“While we expect 650,000 premises to have access to our FibreOP services by the end of this year, we will still have more to do. I expect to announce our plan for further expansion in early 2013,” Sheriff said.
She also noted that revenues from internet services were also up $10 million in the quarter compared with the same quarter last year.
Total data revenue, including internet and TV, increased $21 million, or 9.6%, in the third quarter of 2012 compared with the same period in 2011.
Bell Aliant has said that its fibre optic network is key to the company’s long-term profitability.
