Rogers Communications Inc.

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the Rogers Communications Inc third quarter 2024 results conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen only mode and the conference is being recorded. Following the presentation, we'll conduct a question and answer session. To join the question queue, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star then zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Paul Carpino, Vice President of Investor Relations with Rogers Communications. Please go ahead, Mr. Carpino.

Thank you, Gaylene, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'm here with our President and Chief Executive Officer, Tony Staffieri, and our Chief Financial Officer, Glenn Brandt. During our Q&A, I'd ask you to limit yourself to one question and a quick follow-up, if needed. Today's discussion will include estimates and other forward-looking information from which our actual results could differ. Please review the cautionary language in today's earnings report MD&A and in our 2023 annual report regarding the various factors, assumptions, and risks that could cause our actual results to differ. With that, let me turn it over to Tony to begin.

Thank you, Paul, and good morning, everyone. I'm very pleased to report that Rogers delivered another strong quarter of results. For 11 consecutive quarters, we have delivered industry-leading results driven by disciplined execution in a healthy and competitive market. We once again reported industry-leading market share in wireless, industry-leading margins in wireless and cable, and strong profitability in media. And we continue to invest in the future growth of our three core businesses. And we made significant progress in strengthening our balance sheets. As you saw this morning, we announced a transaction with a leading global financial investor to provide an innovative $7 billion structured equity financing. The proceeds will be used to pay down debt, and as a result, we now expect our debt leverage ratio to reach 3.7 times by year end. This is well ahead of our 4.2 times target we previously communicated, and it will accelerate our shod deleveraging plans by a full 12 months. This structured financing transaction is the first of its kind in Canada and demonstrates our innovative approach to maintaining an investment grade balance sheet while investing in growth. Closing is subject to the finalization of definitive agreements and is expected to happen in the fourth quarter. Let me now turn to our third quarter results. This quarter, we added a record 227,000 mobile phone and internet net additions. And over the past 11 quarters, we have added 1.9 million mobile phone and internet net additions. It's clear our strategy is working and our team is executing with discipline. More Canadians continue to choose Rogers more than any other provider in Canada. I'm proud of our team and their efforts to compete in a healthy, and competitive marketplace. Wireless postpaid mobile phone net additions were 101,000 and prepaid net ads were 93,000. The market was competitive during the seasonally busy back to school period and we effectively used our Chatter brand to gain customers in the new to Canada market. We remain focused on ensuring a clear delineation between our premium 5G brand and our successful prepaid Chatter brand. We have been executing on our brand differentiation strategy for almost two years now, and it's been highly effective in delivering strong results. Cable loading was also strong in the third quarter. We delivered retail internet net additions of 33,000, up 15,000, or 83%, from last year. This brings our year-to-date retail internet net additions to 85,000, a 50% increase from one year ago. Our expanded footprint and diversified internet product offering are driving this growth. By choosing Rogers, customers can select the products and plans that best meet their needs, delivered seamlessly through our network capabilities, whether it's direct fiber, fiber coax, 5G wireless home internet, or wholesale TPIA. Our strong wireless and cable loading is underpinned by our networks. In the third quarter, two global leaders in network benchmarking reaffirmed our network leadership position. Umlaut once again awarded Rogers Canada's most reliable 5G network. In a separate benchmarking study, OpenSignal recognized Rogers for delivering the most reliable wireless services in Canada. OpenSignal also awarded Rogers as Canada's fastest and most reliable internet. The report found we consistently deliver the most reliable experience, the fastest overall download speeds, and the best streaming experience in Canada. Our customers have told us reliability is what matters most to them, and we're outperforming our competitors on this key metric. We're also advancing our DOCSIS roadmap. This quarter, we successfully trialed DOCSIS 4 modem technology with 4 gigabit download and 1 gigabit upload speeds. This is a global first, and we just hit another milestone. We have started trialing the Comcast XCR modem, the most advanced Wi-Fi 7 and 10G-capable router in Canada. And Rogers' satellite-to-mobile partner, SpaceX, just completed a global first, a successful real-world test with T-Mobile of their Starlink low-Earth orbit direct-to-cell router constellation during hurricanes Helene and Milton. SpaceX also enabled and tested emergency alerts via satellite to mobile phones in affected areas. With over 300 LEO satellites in service, the technology was able to support thousands of residents with messaging service. As we previously announced, we are bringing this same industry-leading technology to Canadians. From a financial perspective, our growth, strong execution, and continued efficiency gains are delivering industry-leading financial performance and industry-best margins. In fact, we've set a new benchmark at Rogers with our best-ever cable and wireless margins. Wireless service revenue was up 2%, and adjusted EBITDA was up 5%. We delivered wireless margins of 66%, and blended ARPU remained stable. In cable, we remain on track to return to growth in the fourth quarter. In Q3, cable revenue improved sequentially to a decline of 1%. So we're seeing steady progress here towards our return to growth in the fourth quarter. With the improvements in cable revenue, adjusted EBITDA was strong, up 5%, and our team delivered industry-leading margins of 58%. Our sports and media business also had a strong quarter. We showed strong growth and profitability with revenue growth of 11% and adjusted EBITDA was up a healthy 25%. As Canada's communications and entertainment company, live sports and entertainment are core to our business strategy. In the third quarter, we signed a strategic agreement to buy Bell's 37.5% ownership stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. It's a significant step in our long-term plan to surface more value for our shareholders. So overall, all three businesses are executing very well, and we have clearly and significantly advanced our balance sheet delivering well ahead of plan. Before I hand over things to Glenn, I want to thank our team for delivering strong results and disciplined execution in a competitive and healthy market. We've delivered 11 straight quarters of growth invested in new innovations, and made big, bold bets. We have momentum, and I'm proud of our team for their relentless hard work. Let me now turn over the call to Glenn.