Telus reports operational and financial results for third quarter 2024

• Industry-best total mobile and fixed customer growth of 347,000 driven by strong demand for our leading portfolio of services across mobility and fixed

Strong Mobile Phone and Connected Device net additions of 130,000 and 159,000, respectively; industry-leading postpaid mobile phone churn of 0.90 per cent

Robust third quarter Fixed customer net additions of 58,000, including 34,000 internet customer additions, driven by our leading TELUS PureFibre network and premier portfolio of bundled services across Mobile and Home

TTech Operating Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth of 1.9 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively, alongside strong margin expansion of 110 basis points to 39 per cent reflecting a lower cost-to-serve and focus on driving higher margin per user, gains from copper and real estate monetization and continued double digit momentum in health services EBITDA contribution growth

Net income and earnings per share higher by 88 per cent and 111 per cent, respectively and on an adjusted basis increased by 11 and 12 per cent; Consolidated free cash flow up 58 per cent

Quarterly dividend increased to $0.4023, up 7.0 per cent over the same period last year, representing a dividend yield of approximately 7.7 per cent

2024 target for TTech operating revenue growth updated to slightly below the lower end of the original range; targets for TTech Adjusted EBITDA, along with our Consolidated targets for Capital Expenditures and Free cash flow, remain unchanged as provided with the release of our second quarter 2024 results in August

Vancouver, British Columbia – TELUS Corporation today released its unaudited results for the third quarter of 2024. Consolidated operating revenues and other income increased by 1.8 per cent over the same period a year ago to $5.1 billion. This growth was driven by higher service revenue and other income from copper and real estate monetization in our TELUS technology solutions (TTech) segment, alongside higher other offset by lower service revenue in our TELUS digital experience segment (TELUS Digital). 

Within TTech, higher revenue from the expansion of mobile network, residential internet, TV and security subscribers, health services, agriculture and consumer goods services, along with increases in managed, unmanaged and other fixed data services; partially offset by rate reductions in mobile network, residential internet, and security services, as well as declines in TV and fixed legacy voice services revenues. The decline in TELUS Digital operating revenues were from lower external revenues reflecting: (i) lower revenues from leading social media client and other technology clients; (ii) a reduction in revenue in other industry verticals, notably among communications (excluding the TTech segment) and eCommerce clients; and (iii) a persistently challenging macroeconomic environment and competitive conditions in the industry. See Third Quarter 2024 Operating Highlights within this news release for a discussion on TTech and TELUS Digital results.

"In the third quarter, our team's dedication to operational excellence led to industry-leading customer growth and robust financial results, harnessing our premier asset portfolio and focused commitment to cost efficiency and effectiveness,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO. “Our results demonstrate our ability to deliver sustainable profitable growth, anchored by our strategic emphasis on margin-accretive customer expansion, globally leading broadband networks, and a customer-centric culture. This enabled industry-best total customer net additions of 347,000, including robust mobile phone customer additions of 130,000, strong gains in connected devices with 159,000 net additions, and total fixed net additions of 58,000. Our team's passion for delivering customer service excellence contributed once again to leading loyalty across our key product lines. Notably, postpaid mobile phone churn was 0.90 per cent, while churn for TELUS-branded mobility and home households nationally was below one per cent, underscoring the consistent strength of our unmatched bundled product offerings across Mobile and Home, over our industry-leading PureFibre and wireless broadband networks.”

“Within TELUS Health, our team achieved revenue growth of four per cent as strategic investments in our products, sales, and distribution channels generate strong momentum across our health portfolio. Our team also achieved 50 per cent Adjusted EBITDA contribution growth, supported by higher revenue and the realization of $331 million in combined annualized synergies since acquiring LifeWorks in 2022. This includes $277 million in cost synergies and $54 million in cross-selling, as we work towards our overall objective of $427 million by the end of 2025. Additionally, we drove a 9.2 per cent year-over-year increase in global lives covered to 76 million. Similarly, within TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods, we continue to see positive outcomes, strengthening our market position and delivering a more than 20 per cent increase in revenue alongside strong profitability growth and margin contribution. Our commitment to maximizing the full potential of these distinctive global businesses is underscored by leveraging the expertise, experience, and high-performance culture of our team. This also includes capitalizing on significant cross-selling opportunities across all our businesses, demonstrating the collective talent and effectiveness of our team in driving our success."

“Importantly, our significant broadband network investments, and the profitable growth they drive, enable the continued advancement of our financial and operational performance and the long-term sustainability of our industry-leading dividend growth program,” continued Darren. “The 7.0 per cent year-over-year dividend increase announced today represents the twenty-seventh increase since we initiated our multi-year dividend growth program in 2011, now in its fourteenth year. Since 2004, TELUS has returned more than $26 billion to shareholders, including over $21 billion in dividends, representing approximately $18 per share.”

“Demonstrating our organization’s long-standing belief in the symbiotic relationship between doing well in business and doing good in the global communities where our team members live, work and serve, last month we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the TELUS Student Bursary,” added Darren. “Through the TELUS Student Bursary, we are creating the circumstances necessary to empower young people in Canada to realize their full potential. In addition to being the largest bursary fund in the country, the TELUS Student Bursary is also unique because of its focus on social purpose and its holistic approach to supporting and developing our future leaders. This academic year alone, the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation awarded $2.2 million to more than 500 students in financial need. Since the inception of the bursary program, the Foundation has provided over $4 million to nearly 1,000 students.” 

"Earlier today, TELUS Digital Experience (TELUS Digital) also reported its third quarter results, delivering stable financial performance as compared to the prior quarter, signifying a positive step on the recovery trajectory, and we are eager to drive further improvements as we advance our growth objectives. Indeed, TELUS Digital’s comprehensive and growing suite of leading AI solutions continues to demonstrate strong momentum, capturing new client engagements and broader recognition in the market, exemplifying our progress in next generation technology applications. Moreover, the strength of TELUS Digital’s transformational generative AI-powered solutions and tools created for all lines of business at TELUS, continues to enhance their go-to-market efforts with new and prospective clients. Our confidence in TELUS Digital’s fundamental drivers of value creation remains unwavering, particularly given the company’s leadership in key areas such as trust and safety, the digitization of its own and its clients’ customer experience operations, and the broader evolution of its business towards a technology-centric model. Importantly, we see TELUS Digital creating positive momentum for its medium and long-term growth."

Doug French, Executive Vice-president and CFO said, “Our solid performance during the third quarter continues to highlight our consistent track record of operational execution excellence as we navigate a dynamic operating environment. This quarter, TTech operating revenue growth of approximately two per cent continued to improve relative to the first half of the year, driven by stable mobile network growth, alongside a steady improvement within fixed data, as well as strong contribution from our global health and agriculture and consumer goods businesses. Furthermore, we delivered strong TTech Adjusted EBITDA growth of 5.6 per cent accompanied by margin expansion of 110 basis points to 39 per cent. This growth was driven by our longstanding emphasis on profitable customer growth, combined with driving a lower cost-to-serve through our ongoing focus on cost efficiency and effectiveness, as well as continued financial gains related to our copper and real estate monetization program. For 2024, we now anticipate restructuring expenses to be approximately $450 million as we continue to optimize our cost structure to drive EBITDA expansion, margin accretion, and accelerated free cash flow growth.”

"As we continue through the final quarter of the year, our financial position remains strong. At the end of the third quarter, we had approximately $3.2 billion of available liquidity, our average cost of long-term debt was 4.40 per cent, the average term to maturity of long-term debt is approximately 11 years, and our net debt to EBITDA ratio was 3.83 times. As we look toward future years, we anticipate an improvement in our leverage ratio as we work towards our target ratio through continued EBITDA growth, declining capital intensity toward the 10 per cent level, and ongoing free cash flow expansion.”

"For the full year, our 2024 target for TTech operating revenue growth is now anticipated to be slightly below the lower end of our original target range. This updated outlook reflects the competitive market conditions and our team’s continued focus on operational execution excellence. Importantly, targets for TTech Adjusted EBITDA, along with our consolidated targets for capital expenditures and free cash flow, remain unchanged as previously communicated in our second quarter earnings release in August. Despite the dynamic and competitive environment in the near-term, we are confident in our ability to drive strong, sustainable, and margin-accretive growth. This confidence is rooted in our persistent focus on operational efficiency and effectiveness. The strength and resilience of our business continues to demonstrate our superior asset mix, and we are enthusiastic about the promising future prospects for our organization in Canada and internationally through our global growth assets. This includes our expectations for continued free cash flow expansion in the coming years, driven by sustained strong EBITDA growth and moderating capital expenditure intensity. This is supplemented by our copper and real estate monetization programs that will continue for years to come. All of these support the long-term sustainability and quality of our long-standing and industry-leading dividend growth program,” concluded Doug.

To view the full release in PDF format, please download here.