Rogers announced its Q4 2009 financial and operating results today.
“Against a tough economic backdrop, we delivered solid financial and operating results during the fourth quarter,” said Nadir Mohamed, President and Chief Executive Officer, Rogers Communications Inc. “Importantly, the results show a healthy balance of growth, cost control, improved churn and a double-digit increase in cash flow generation.”
“2009 was a solid year for Rogers, we returned increasing amounts of cash to shareholders and we delivered on our commitments,” continued Mr. Mohamed. “Looking ahead, we are extremely well positioned with a terrific asset mix and strong customer demand for our products and services. The dividend increase and the renewal of our share buyback program for 2010 underline our continued confidence in the strategic position of the Company.”
In its Wireless division, it reported 109,000 postpaid net subscriber additions and some 400,000 new smartphone activations, most being iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices. Smartphones now account for 31 percent of the overall postpaid subscriber base up from 19 percent the same quarter a year ago. This is good news for Rogers as smartphone subscriber ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is almost twice that of voice only subscribers.
Electronista is also reporting that Rogers Wireless has hinted that it is in discussions with Apple to offer the upcoming Apple iPad. Details are few but it is suggested that Apple is probably looking for similar data plans offering as AT&T announced in the United States (250MB of data for US$14.99 or unlimited data for US$29.99).