Cost cuts boost BCE profits

Article Excerpt

BCE INC. $26.76 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 767.2 million; Market cap: $20.5 billion; SI Rating: Above Average) continues to lower its costs in the face of tough competition for new phone customers. Its current restructuring plan, which includes cutting jobs, relocating employees and selling surplus real estate, should save the company $400 million a year, starting in 2010. In the three months ended June 30, 2009, BCE’s per-share earnings rose 9.4%, to $0.58 from $0.53. This does not include costs related to the company’s restructuring. Revenue fell 2.1%, to $4.3 billion from $4.4 billion. The company continues to lose residential-phone customers to cable companies and wireless providers, but these losses are slowing. As well, the recession is weighing on BCE’s wireless operations, which signed up 45,000 new customers during the quarter, compared to 83,000 a year earlier. However, revenue from BCE’s satellite-TV services gained 9.3%, and high-speed Internet revenue rose 2.8%. BCE has also raised its quarterly dividend, to $0.405 a share…