Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Rogers Communications Inc., Canada's largest wireless carrier, posted a third-quarter profit that exceeded analysts' estimates on demand for Apple Inc.'s iPhone.
Net income almost doubled to C$495 million ($382 million), or 78 cents a share, from C$269 million, or 42 cents, a year earlier, Rogers said today in a statement. Excluding costs such as stock-based compensation, profit was 73 cents a share, beating the 51-cent estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Rogers activated 255,000 iPhone 3Gs, the latest version of the Web-browsing handset which started selling in July. Wireless sales rose 20 percent to C$1.73 billion, accounting for more than half of the total and outpacing sales at the Toronto-based company's cable and retail businesses.
``It was all the iPhone,'' Greg MacDonald, an analyst at National Bank Financial in Toronto, said in an interview. He has an ``outperform'' rating for the stock.
Rogers rose C$1.30, or 4.5 percent, to C$30.37 at 10:13 a.m. in Toronto Stock Exchange composite trading. They had dropped 35 percent this year before today.
Total revenue increased 14 percent to C$2.98 billion, topping the C$2.92 billion average of analysts' estimates.
IPhone Costs
Rogers cut the upper end of its 2008 adjusted operating- profit forecast, citing ``high'' demand for the iPhone, which it subsidizes. Profit on that basis will be as much as C$4.1 billion, as opposed to C$4.2 billion predicted in January.
Average monthly revenue per subscriber increased 4.4 percent to $78.46, driven by the iPhone and other devices that allow consumers send e-mail and browse the Web.
``Customers embraced the iPhone,'' Chief Operating Officer Nadir Mohamed, 53, said on a conference call today. Wireless Web and other advanced functions ``are going to generate significant growth for Rogers and the industry overall.''
Rogers had at least $95 million in costs from activating iPhones. The company sells them a loss and tries to recoup the money in contract fees later on. Rogers lowered its price for iPhone contracts in July after more than 57,000 people signed an online petition, saying the rates were too high.
Source: bloomberg.com
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