Quebecor Inc. Reports Consolidated Results for Second Quarter 2012 and Renews Normal Course Issuer Bid
(firmenpresse) - MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwire) -- 08/09/12 -- Quebecor Inc. ("Quebecor" or the "Corporation") (TSX: QBR.A)(TSX: QBR.B) today reported its consolidated financial results for the second quarter of 2012. Quebecor consolidates the financial results of its Quebecor Media Inc. ("Quebecor Media") subsidiary, in which it holds a 54.7% interest.
Second quarter 2012 highlights
"Quebecor's revenues rose by 3.1% in the second quarter of 2012, mainly because of sustained growth in Videotron's sales," said Pierre Karl Peladeau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quebecor. "Our second quarter results were marked by the Telecommunications segment's excellent results while our News Media segment's results declined from the same period of 2011, mainly because of significant investments in, among other things, the distribution network and the publishing of community newspapers. However, the newspaper publishing and printing operations posted the highest operating margins, expressed as a percentage of revenues, of all the major industry players in the second quarter of 2012. We also made major investments in expanding the specialty services of TVA Group Inc. ("TVA Group"), so that their financial performance will no longer be entirely dependent on the conventional television network's results.
"Videotron continued to grow despite the fiercely competitive environment. The mobile telephony service attracted new customers and generated additional revenue streams. We continued our business strategy, which is based on bundling services into attractive packages, coupled with superior product quality and outstanding customer service. Revenues from Videotron's core services were all up significantly, boosting the Telecommunications segment's operating income by $27.5 million, a 10.0% increase from the same quarter of 2011. Videotron also posted a net increase of 31,100 revenue generating units(3) during the second quarter of 2012. The illico TV new generation service was rolled out across all of Videotron's service area during the quarter and more than six million Quebecers now have access to the new cable television service, which is distinguished by its user-friendliness and superior interfaces. Videotron also launched Ultimate Speed Internet 200, an Internet access service that sets a new standard for speed.
"The News Media segment was busy during the second quarter of 2012, acquiring Pub Extra magazine and the weekly L'Impact de Drummondville, and launching L'Echo de Victoriaville. Quebecor Media's Quebec community newspapers network now has a combined weekly circulation of over 2.5 million copies.
"To offer its customers expanded media exposure and broaden its convergence strategy, Quebecor Media has entered an entirely new media platform. Quebecor Media was chosen through a call for tenders to install, maintain and advertise on Societe de transport de Montreal (STM) bus shelters for the next 20 years. For us, this is a promising move into a line of business that is experiencing significant technological change.
"In the field of electronic media, Quebecor Media announced a partnership with ReadBooks SAS, a Franco-Quebec company specializing in ebooks. The partnership will support the development of new software for Archambault Group Inc. ("Archambault Group") and Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore that will allow them to increase their offerings and enhance their customers' reading experience.
"Finally, on another front, Quebecor Media welcomed with great satisfaction the Quebec Superior Court judgements of July 23, 2012 ordering Bell TV (formerly Bell ExpressVu) to compensate Videotron and TVA Group. The court found that Bell TV committed serious misconduct by not taking the appropriate measures at the opportune time to prevent the illegal decoding of its satellite television signals, even though it knew the extent of the piracy of its system and had the required technology at its disposal to end it. We were glad to see Superior Court rule against Bell for resorting to illegal means that weaken its competitors and for having failed to meet its obligations to protect rather than undermine the integrity of the Quebec and Canadian broadcasting industry.
"In the first half of 2012, Quebecor actively pursued its customer, product and business development strategies, combined with vigorous operating cost-control initiatives, in order to achieve its long-term growth and profitability targets."
2012/2011 second quarter comparison
Revenues: $1.09 billion, an increase of $33.0 million (3.1%).
Operating income: $357.8 million, a decrease of $0.7 million (-0.2%).
Net income attributable to shareholders: $67.0 million ($1.05 per basic share) compared with $55.2 million ($0.86 per basic share) in the second quarter of 2011, an increase of $11.8 million ($0.19 per basic share).
Adjusted income from continuing operations: $48.7 million in the second quarter of 2012 ($0.77 per basic share) compared with $60.0 million ($0.93 per basic share) in the same period of 2011, a decrease of $11.3 million ($0.16 per basic share).
2012/2011 year-to-date comparison
Revenues: $2.15 billion, an increase of $106.5 million (5.2%).
Operating income: $680.0 million, an increase of $27.2 million (4.2%).
Net income attributable to shareholders: $139.9 million ($2.20 per basic share) compared with $89.5 million ($1.39 per basic share) in the first half of 2011, an increase of $50.4 million ($0.81 per basic share).
Adjusted income from continuing operations: $88.0 million in the first half of 2012 ($1.39 per basic share) compared with $95.9 million ($1.49 per basic share) in the same period of 2011, a decrease of $7.9 million ($0.10 per basic share).
Dividends
On August 8, 2012, the Board of Directors of Quebecor declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share on Class A Multiple Voting Shares ("Class A shares") and Class B Subordinate Voting Shares ("Class B shares") payable on September 18, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 24, 2012. This dividend is designated to be an eligible dividend, as provided under subsection 89(14) of the Canadian Income Tax Act and its provincial counterpart.
Normal course issuer bid
The Board of Directors of Quebecor has authorized a normal course issuer bid for a maximum of 980,357 Class A shares, representing approximately 5% of the issued and outstanding Class A shares, and for a maximum of 4,351,276 Class B shares, representing approximately 10% of the public float for the Class B shares as of July 31, 2012.
The purchases will be made from August 13, 2012 to August 12, 2013, at prevailing market prices, on the open market through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange and will be made in accordance with the requirements of said Exchange. All shares purchased will be cancelled. As of July 31, 2012, 19,607,151 Class A Shares and 43,725,831 Class Bshares were issued and outstanding.
The average daily trading volume of the Class A shares and the Class B shares of the Corporation from February 1, 2012 to July 31, 2012 has been 979 Class A shares and 110,324 Class B shares. Consequently, the Corporation will be authorized to purchase a maximum of 1,000 Class A shares and of 27,581 Class B shares during the same trading day pursuant to its normal course issued bid.
The Corporation believes that the repurchase of these shares, pursuant to this normal course issuer bid, is in the best interest of the Corporation and its shareholders.
Within the past twelve months, the Corporation has not repurchased any outstanding Class A shares and has repurchased 1,121,500 Class B Shares at a volume weighted average price of $33.2596 per share.
Shareholders may obtain a copy of the Notice filed with the Toronto Stock Exchange, without charge, by contacting the Secretary's office of the Corporation at (514) 380-1994.
Detailed financial information
For a detailed analysis of Quebecor's second quarter 2012 results, please refer to the Management Discussion and Analysis and consolidated financial statements of Quebecor, available on the Corporation's website at: or from the SEDAR filing service at .
Conference call for investors and webcast
Quebecor will hold a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2012 results on August 9, 2012, at 11 a.m. EDT. There will be a question period reserved for financial analysts. To access the conference call, please dial 1 877 293-8052, access code for participants 58308#. A tape recording of the call will be available from August 9 to November 9, 2012 by dialling 1 877 293-8133, conference number 801836#, access code for participants 58308#. The conference call will also be broadcast live on Quebecor's website at . It is advisable to ensure the appropriate software is installed before accessing the call. Instructions and links to free player downloads are available at the Internet address shown above.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause Quebecor's actual results for future periods to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of the conditional or by forward-looking terminology such as the terms "plans," "expects," "may," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "seeks," "believes," or similar terms, variations of such terms or the negative of such terms. Certain factors that may cause actual results to differ from current expectations include seasonality (including seasonal fluctuations in customer orders), operating risk (including fluctuations in demand for Quebecor's products and pricing actions by competitors), insurance risk, risks associated with capital investment (including risks related to technological development and equipment availability and breakdown), environmental risks, risks associated with labour agreements, risks associated with commodities and energy prices (including fluctuations in the cost and availability of raw materials), credit risk, financial risks, debt risks, risks related to interest rate fluctuations, foreign exchange risks, risks associated with government acts and regulations, risks related to changes in tax legislation, and changes in the general political and economic environment. Investors and others are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive and that undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements. For more information on the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause Quebecor's actual results to differ from current expectations, please refer to Quebecor's public filings available at and including, in particular, the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of Quebecor's Management Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2011.
The forward-looking statements in this press release reflect Quebecor's expectations as of August 9, 2012, and are subject to change after that date. Quebecor expressly disclaims any obligation or intention to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.
The Corporation
Quebecor Inc. (TSX: QBR.A)(TSX: QBR.B) is a holding company with a 54.7% interest in Quebecor Media Inc., one of Canada's largest media groups, with more than 16,000 employees. Quebecor Media Inc., through its subsidiary Videotron Ltd., is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, interactive multimedia development, Internet access services, cable telephony, and mobile telephony. Through Sun Media Corporation, Quebecor Media Inc. is the largest publisher of newspapers in Canada. It also operates Canoe.ca and its network of English- and French-language Internet properties in Canada. In the broadcasting sector, Quebecor Media Inc. operates, through TVA Group Inc., the number one French-language general-interest television network in Quebec, a number of specialty channels and the SUN News English-language channel. Another subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., Nurun Inc., is a major interactive technologies and communications agency with offices in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. Quebecor Media Inc. is also active in magazine publishing (TVA Publishing Inc.), video game development (BlooBuzz Studios Holding, L.P.), book publishing and distribution (Sogides Group Inc. and CEC Publishing Inc.), the production, distribution and retailing of cultural products (Archambault Group Inc. and TVA Films), DVD, Blu-ray disc and videogame rental and retailing (Le SuperClub Videotron ltee), the printing and distribution of regional newspapers and flyers (Quebecor Media Printing Inc. and Quebecor Media Network Inc.), news content production and distribution (QMI Agency), multiplatform advertising solutions (QMI Sales), and the publishing of printed and online directories, through Quebecor MediaPages™.
DEFINITIONS
Operating income
In its analysis of operating results, the Corporation defines operating income, as reconciled to net income under IFRS, as net income before amortization, financial expenses, gain (loss) on valuation and translation of financial instruments, charge for restructuring of operations, impairment of assets and other special items, impairment of goodwill, loss on debt refinancing, and income tax. Operating income as defined above is not a measure of results that is consistent with IFRS. It is not intended to be regarded as an alternative to other financial operating performance measures or to the statement of cash flows as a measure of liquidity. It should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. The Corporation uses operating income in order to assess the performance of its investment in Quebecor Media. The Corporation's management and Board of Directors use this measure in evaluating its consolidated results as well as the results of the Corporation's operating segments. This measure eliminates the significant level of depreciation and amortization of tangible and intangible assets and is unaffected by the capital structure or investment activities of the Corporation and its segments. Operating income is also relevant because it is a significant component of the Corporation's annual incentive compensation programs. A limitation of this measure, however, is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues in the Corporation's segments. The Corporation also uses other measures that do reflect such costs, such as cash flows from segment operations and free cash flows from operations. In addition, measures like operating income are commonly used by the investment community to analyze and compare the performance of companies in the industries in which the Corporation is engaged. The Corporation's definition of operating income may not be the same as similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
Table 2 below provides a reconciliation of operating income to net income, as disclosed in Quebecor's condensed consolidated financial statements.
Adjusted income from continuing operations
The Corporation defines adjusted income from continuing operations, as reconciled to net income attributable to shareholders under IFRS, as net income attributable to shareholders before gain (loss) on valuation and translation of financial instruments, charge for restructuring of operations, impairment of assets and other special items, impairment of goodwill and loss on debt refinancing, net of income tax and net income attributable to non-controlling interests. Adjusted income from continuing operations, as defined above, is not a measure of results that is consistent with IFRS. It should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. The Corporation's definition of adjusted income from continuing operating activities may not be identical to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
Table 3 provides a reconciliation of adjusted income from continuing operations to the net income attributable to shareholders measure used in Quebecor's condensed consolidated financial statements.
Average Monthly Revenue per User
Average monthly revenue per user ("ARPU") is an industry metric that the Corporation uses to measure its monthly cable television, Internet access, cable telephony and mobile telephony revenues per average basic cable customer. ARPU is not a measurement that is consistent with IFRS and the Corporation's definition and calculation of ARPU may not be the same as identically titled measurements reported by other companies. The Corporation calculates ARPU by dividing its combined cable television, Internet access, cable telephony and mobile telephony revenues by the average number of basic customers during the applicable period, and then dividing the resulting amount by the number of months in the applicable period.
Contacts:
Jean-Francois Pruneau
Chief Financial Officer
Quebecor Inc. and Quebecor Media Inc.
(514) 380-4144
J. Serge Sasseville
Senior Vice President, Corporate and Institutional Affairs
Quebecor Media Inc.
(514) 380-1864
Themen in dieser Pressemitteilung:
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 09.08.2012 - 04:00 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 1140883
Anzahl Zeichen: 0
contact information:
Contact person:
Town:
MONTREAL, QUEBEC
Phone:
Kategorie:
Books & Publishing
Anmerkungen:
Diese Pressemitteilung wurde bisher 184 mal aufgerufen.
Die Pressemitteilung mit dem Titel:
"Quebecor Inc. Reports Consolidated Results for Second Quarter 2012 and Renews Normal Course Issuer Bid
"
steht unter der journalistisch-redaktionellen Verantwortung von
Quebecor Inc. (Nachricht senden)
Beachten Sie bitte die weiteren Informationen zum Haftungsauschluß (gemäß TMG - TeleMedianGesetz) und dem Datenschutz (gemäß der DSGVO).
