Bell Aliant Q1 profit falls as operating arm reaps less revenue from services

HALIFAX – Bell Aliant Inc. (TSX:BA) says its first-quarter net income was down 16 per cent compared with the same time last year as it received $13.8 million less income from its operating arm, which the phone and telecommunications company owns in partnership with Montreal-based BCE Inc. (TSX:BA)

The Halifax-based company’s share of earnings from Bell Aliant GP — which operates telecom services throughout Atlantic Canada and in some parts of Quebec and Ontario — said its share of the first-quarter profit dropped to $69.4 million from $83.5 million in the comparable three-month period last year.

Bell Aliant GP’s overall net income dropped to $76.7 million from $89.3 million, while operating revenue decreased 1.2 per cent from a year ago to $675.7 million from $683.6 million.

The company said increases in revenue from high-speed Internet and its IPTV television services — its fastest growing segments — were offset by declines in its other services.

Aliant said the older landline services declined as a result of competition and a customer switch to other services, including wireless. There was also some impact from the closure of a contact centre in late 2013.

Aliant said it added about 11,000 high-speed Internet customers and 11,700 Internet protocol TV subscribers in the quarter.

At the end of March, Aliant had 963,048 high-speed Internet customers, up from 927,111 a year earlier, and 189,781 IPTV customers, up from 137,270 in the first quarter of 2013.