Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Rogers Communications (RCI) Q2 Earnings Beat, Revenues Fall Y/Y

Read MoreHide Full Article

Rogers Communications (RCI - Free Report) reported second-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of 85 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.41% and increased 11.8% year over year.

Revenues of $3.72 billion missed the consensus mark by 0.45% and decreased 0.9% year over year.

In domestic currency (Canadian dollar), adjusted earnings increased 13.7% year over year to $1.16 per share. Total revenues increased 0.9% year over year, reaching C$5.09 billion, driven primarily by revenue growth in Wireless and Media businesses.

Rogers Communication, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Rogers Communication, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Rogers Communication, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Rogers Communication, Inc. Quote

Wireless Details

Wireless revenues (48.4% of total revenues) increased 1.7% year over year to C$2.46 billion. Service revenues increased 3.5% to C$1.98 billion. Equipment revenues were down 5.2% to C$478 million.

Wireless service revenues benefited from the cumulative impact of growth in the mobile phone subscriber base over the past year. The year-to-date increase was affected by the impact of the Shaw Mobile subscribers acquired through the Shaw Transaction in April 2023. 
Monthly mobile phone ARPU was C$57.24, up 0.8% year over year.

As of Jun 30, 2024, the prepaid subscriber base totaled 1.068 million, reflecting a loss of 172K subscribers against 37K gained in the year-ago quarter. The monthly churn rate was 3.2% compared with 6.33% reported in the year-ago quarter.

As of Jun 30, 2024, the postpaid wireless subscriber base totaled 10.59 million, reflecting net additions of 49K compared with 107K in the year-ago quarter. The monthly churn rate was 1.07% compared with 0.87% in the year-ago quarter.

Segment operating expenses decreased 2.7% year over year to C$1.17 billion.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 6.1% year over year to C$1.29 billion. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 210 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis to 52.6%.

Cable Details

Cable revenues (38.6% of total revenues) decreased 2.4% year over year to C$1.96 billion.

Service revenues decreased 2.8% year over year to C$1.948 billion. Equipment revenues increased 100% on a year-over-year basis to C$16 million.

As of Jun 30, 2024, the retail Internet subscriber count was nearly 4.214 million, reflecting net loss of 70K against a rise of 2.013 million in the year-ago quarter.

As of Jun 30, 2024, total Smart Home Monitoring subscribers reached 101K, highlighting a rise of 9K subscribers. The total Home Phone subscriber count was nearly 1.563 million, reflecting a loss of 121K customers in the reported quarter.

ARPA was C$139.62, lower than the C$139.68 reported in the year-ago quarter.

Segment operating expenses decreased 14.1% year over year to C$848 million.

Adjusted EBITDA soared 8.8% year over year to C$1.116 billion.

Media Details

Media revenues (14.5% of total revenues) increased 7.3% year over year to C$736 million, primarily attributed to higher sports-related revenues, primarily at the Toronto Blue Jays, partially offset by lower Today's Shopping Choice revenues. 
Segment operating expenses increased 7.9% year over year to C$736 million.

Adjusted EBITDA was zero, which plunged 100% year over year due to higher operating expenses.

Consolidated Results

Operating costs increased 23% to C$2.687 billion. As a percentage of revenues, operating costs contracted 210 bps to 54.8%.

Adjusted EBITDA jumped 6.2% year over year to C$2.32 billion. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 230 bps to 45.7%.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow Details

As of Jun 30, 2024, RCI had C$4.3 billion of available liquidity, including $0.45 billion in cash and cash equivalents and a combined C$3.85 billion available under the bank credit facility.

As of Mar 31, 2024, Rogers Communications had C$4.6 billion of available liquidity, including $0.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents and a combined C$3.8 billion available under the bank credit facility.

The company’s debt leverage ratio decreased to 4.7 times as of Jun 30, 2024, which has remained constant since the previous quarter.

Cash flow from operating activities was C$1.47 billion compared with C$1.18 billion generated in the previous quarter. Free cash flow was C$666 million compared with C$586 million generated in the previous quarter.

Rogers Communications paid dividends worth C$266 million and declared a C$0.50 per share dividend.

Guidance

For 2024, RCI expects total service revenues to grow between 8% and 10%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow in the range of 12-15%.

Capital expenditure is still expected between C$3.80 billion and C$4 billion. Free cash flow is expected in the range of C$2.9-C$3.1 billion.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Rogers Communications currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Bally’s (BALY - Free Report) , Cinemark (CNK - Free Report) and Crocs (CROX - Free Report) are some better-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the broader sector. BALY, CNK and CROX carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Shares of Bally’s have lost 3% year to date. BALY is set to report second-quarter 2024 results on Jul 31.

Shares of Cinemark have gained 52.7% year to date. CNK is slated to report second-quarter 2024 results on Aug 2.

Shares of Crocs have gained 38.5% year to date. CROX is set to report second-quarter 2024 results on Aug 1.

Published in