VANCOUVER — Telus Corp. (TSX:T) is reporting a 10.5 per cent decline in net income for the second quarter, which included costs related to the closure of the 59 Blacks photography stores.
The Vancouver-based telecom company had $341 million of net income, or 56 cents per share, in the quarter.
That included $59 million of restructuring and similar costs related to both the Blacks closures and its non-core real estate.
Operationally, Telus had a 4.9 per cent increase in adjusted earnings, which rose to $406 million or 66 cents per share. Revenue was up 5.1 per cent at $3.1 billion — an increase of $151 million from last year.
Telus chief executive and president Joe Natale attributed the company's ability to attract and keep subscribers to a strategic focus on creating customer loyalty.
"In this very dynamic and competitive Canadian marketplace, Telus' consistent performance demonstrates how expecting more from ourselves translates into strong results for our customers and shareholders," Natale said.
The company's wireless segment accounted for $1.7 billion of revenue, up 7.4 per cent from last year, while the wireline segment — including phone, Internet and TV distribution services for homes and businesses — was up 2.3 per cent to $1.4 billion.
Telus says revenue from wireless data services was up 18 per cent, reflecting a growth in its subscriber base, an increase in higher-priced plans, an expanded network and increased adoption of smartphones and other devices that use wireless data.
Telus had 8.35 million wireless subscribers at the end of the quarter, up 3.3 per cent from the same time last year and a net increase of 63,000 from the end of this year's first quarter.
Revenue from data services over its wireline network increased by 7.8 per cent.
In the second quarter of 2014, Telus had $2.95 billion of revenue, $381 million or 62 cents of net income and $387 million or 62 cents of adjusted net income.
