Cogeco Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
January 11, 2024

There are 10 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day, and welcome to Cogeco Inc. And Cogeco Communications Inc. Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr.

Operator

Patrice Ouimetre, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cogeco Inc. And Cogeco Communications. Please go ahead, Mr. Roumier.

Speaker 1

Thank you. So good morning, everybody, and welcome to this 1st quarter conference call, which Philippe J. Tay and I will present. So before we begin the call, I'd like to remind listeners that the call is subject to forward looking statements, which can be found in our press releases issued yesterday. Please go ahead, Philip.

Speaker 2

Good morning, and thank you everyone for joining us for the Q1 results of fiscal 2024. But Before we start, on behalf of Cogeco's management team and myself, we would like to extend our warmest wishes for the upcoming year to all of you. The 1st months of fiscal 2024 have been highlighted by significant milestones for our company. First, we secured additional wireless spectrum At attractive prices during the federal government's 3,800 megahertz auction, which now brings the spectrum coverage of our Wireline footprint to 100 percent. In addition to providing valuable spectrum in the Greater Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa regions.

Speaker 2

In total, we have now either acquired We secured nearly $600,000,000 worth of spectrum across several frequency bands that are considered We remain in MVNO Access Negotiations in Canada As securing satisfactory wholesale rates for access to incumbent wireless networks is critical to the success of our mobile business. We cannot comment on the anticipated timeline or completion of the negotiations or potential arbitration that could extend this timeline. As a reminder, however, we don't anticipate a material rollout Beyond the regulated MVNO framework, we will remain open to have commercial deals for part of the service should they be of mutual interest to the parties involved. Additionally, Our progress towards entering the U. S.

Speaker 2

Wireless market through commercial MVNO arrangement In the states we operate in is going well and we expect to provide further updates in the near future. For context, it is easier to get into mobility in the U. S. Under reasonable economic terms As incumbent, wireless carriers are willing to negotiate commercial MVNO arrangements. Further, the capital requirements to launch an MP and O service are very low as there is no need to acquire and deploy spectrum and back office functions can be provided by 3rd parties.

Speaker 2

The aim for Our mobile offerings in both countries is not only to improve our bundling efficiency, but also to increase our addressable market, strengthen our product mix, add an important customer acquisition channel and improve our customer retention and satisfaction, All the while being capital efficient and accretive to our business in due course. A second important milestone occurred subsequent to the end of the quarter. On December 11, We bought back shares in both Cogeco Communications and Cogeco Inc. At attractive prices per share, following the acquisitions by the Caisse de depot and Place Mondeau Quebec of all Rogers' stake in both companies. These transactions provide several benefits, including increasing the net asset value of Cogeco, Increasing the public float of Cogeco Communications and generating free cash flow per share accretion in both companies.

Speaker 2

This opportunity represented a unique and attractive use of our capital to build value for shareholders And increased trading liquidity, while strengthening our existing partnership with CDPQ, A leading global asset manager as an anchor investor in Cogeco Communications. As our financial performance for the quarter, our Q1 2024 results We're in line with our expectations as we balance Internet subscriber growth with financial performance. Our Canadian operations demonstrated strong Internet subscriber growth, Though declines in video and phone pressured revenue and adjusted EBITDA. In the United States, the ongoing economic and competitive challenges continue to be a headwind for our refline operations. In both Canada and the United States, we continue to see the financial benefits from our fiber to the home network expansion programs, which contributed to new Internet subscribers in both markets.

Speaker 2

In Q1, we added more than 13,000 homes passed, bringing our total to 209,000 homes passed since the beginning of fiscal 2022, representing over 7% growth in our network. Many of these new broadband deployments were facilitated by government subsidy programs, aimed at reducing the digital divide and allowing us to expand our fiber network in attractive areas. Going forward, we are preparing for the construction phase of additional projects in Ontario With funding support from the Ontario and federal governments, in the U. S, we are continuing our network edge outs as well as expanding in Virginia under a state initiative to extend our broadband services to underserved areas. Additionally, we look forward to the upcoming launch of the 43,000,000,000 Speed Funding Program, where each state will run its own process of allocating funds for fiber expansion in rural areas.

Speaker 2

Bidding is expected to occur in calendar year 2024 2025. If we were successful in bidding or funding FTTH build outs would then be undertaken over multiple years. On the radio side, our stations remain at the top of the ratings confirming once again Our leadership position in this market. Furthermore, our ongoing efforts to develop innovative digital solutions and adapt to a multi platform audio content model are bringing to bear fruit beginning to bear fruit, which we believe will put us in a good stead over coming quarters. I will now review our operational results.

Speaker 2

And I'll begin with Canadian operations. We continued to connect more homes in unserved and underserved communities in Quebec and Ontario, including through government partnerships and added nearly 7,800 additional homes passed this quarter, bringing the total to approximately 104,000 new homes passed since the beginning of fiscal 2022. Our Canadian team achieved its best first quarter of retail Internet additions in the past 12 years, with nearly 11,000 new Internet customers added in the quarter, driven by contribution from our digital OXEO brand, our entry into newly served areas and effective sales and marketing and customer service in legacy territories. As for our U. S.

Speaker 2

Operations, in Q1, our fiber network expansion program Added nearly 6,000 new homes passed, bringing the total to more than 105,000 new homes passed since the beginning of fiscal 2022, further expanding our total addressable footprint. Our network expansion program and ongoing demand from existing customers For our higher speed offerings, helped offset customer losses at lower price points due to competition and challenging market conditions. Consistent with our Internet led strategy To improve our overall customer lifetime value, in Q1, we continued to see an improving product mix and customer tenure driven by a greater proportion of new connections taking faster Internet speeds, resulting in a higher average revenue per unit. Our focus on cost efficiencies and product improvements, Such as our convenient self installed equipment helped deliver another quarter of higher adjusted EBITDA margin. Within OI, we have significantly improved the speed and the quality of the network and proactively swap video equipment for our modern IPTV.

Speaker 2

We are continuing to focus on turning the Internet customer base to growth as we focus on gaining greater brand awareness in the region. On that front, we have made solid progress that is beginning to show in our OIO subscriber numbers, Though we still have work to do. Outside Ohio, Internet customer net losses were essentially in line with Q1 a year ago. For Cogeco Media, Although the radio advertising industry remains on a long road to recovery, We are happy to report another quarter of year over year growth in revenue As our local advertising sales have been modestly rebounding, having our stations at the top of the ratings, Including 98.5 Montreal, Canada's most listened to radio station positions us well To face the industry challenges. In the meantime, we continue to expand our multiplatform audio content options with more digital ad tech solutions, social media oriented formats and state of the art studio facilities, which are now making meaningful contribution to revenue growth.

Speaker 2

Now let me turn the call over to Patrice, who will provide more details on our financial performance for the quarter.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Philippe. So I'll start by mentioning that the growth rates that I'll be referring to are in constant currency unless otherwise noted. In Canada, Cogeco Connections revenue grew by 1.2% in Q1, resulting mainly from the OXEO acquisition and a higher Internet service customer base, partially offset by lower video and phone customer base. EBITDA declined by 1.1% as we had expected due to revenue growth being offset by higher operating expenses due to timing. In the U.

Speaker 1

S, Bridgeline's revenue was down 6%, driven mainly by a lower customer base over the past year with an increasing proportion of customers only subscribing to Internet services, partially offset by higher revenue per user as customers subscribe to faster Internet speeds. EBITDA declined 3.6%, partially mitigating the drop in revenue as an increasingly attractive product mix continues to develop along with cost reduction initiatives that have positively contributed to EBITDA margins. Turning to our consolidated numbers. At the consolidated level, revenue declined 2.5%, while our adjusted EBITDA fell 2.8% on the expected softer results of our U. S.

Speaker 1

And Canadian operations this quarter, along with a slight decline in margin resulting from the higher corporate costs. Those were due to the timing of certain expenses, including in relation to our plan to offer mobile services in Canada. Capital intensity was 19.6% compared to 25.8% last year due to the completion and the timing of several fiber to the home network expansion projects. Excluding those network expansion projects, capital intensity was 15.3% compared to 17.2% last year. The lower capital intensity notably in the U.

Speaker 1

S. Was partially due to inventory drawdowns of customer premise equipment, which were accumulated during the pandemic to mitigate potential supply chain disruptions. Free cash flow increased by 30.7% over last year, primarily driven by lower CapEx in both countries. Excluding network expansion projects, free cash flow remained relatively stable. Net debt also remained stable in the quarter with a debt to EBITDA ratio of 3.4 turns.

Speaker 1

We have also declared a quarterly dividend of 0.85 of $0.04 per share. Turning to Cogeco Inc. Revenue declined by 2.3%, while EBITDA declined by 2.6% As a result of Cogeco Communications performance, media operations revenue increased by 4% aided by a strong listener engagement across many of our stations and positive contributions from digital advertising revenue. A dividend of $0.854 per share was also declared in the quarter for Cogeco Inc. Now let's discuss Cogeco Communications financial guidelines for fiscal 2024, which we first provided to investors in early November.

Speaker 1

With Q1 results in line with our expectations, we are maintaining our annual guidelines with assumptions remaining the same as outlined on our last call. Our free cash flow forecast now includes the impact of higher interest expenses related to additional debt following the 3,800 megahertz spectrum auction and the December share buyback. As it relates to Q2, we currently expect revenue to decline in the low single digits in constant currency And EBITDA margin to be about 100 basis points lower than the Q2 of last year. Capital intensity is anticipated to be approximately 8 percentage points above Q2 of last year. At Cogeco Connection, in Q2, we expect revenue growth in the low single digits.

Speaker 1

EBITDA is anticipated to decline in the low single digits On higher operating expenses to drive and support customer growth and then leading to EBITDA growth in

Speaker 2

the back half of the year.

Speaker 1

At Breezeline, Q2 revenue is anticipated to decline in the low single digits, reflecting the competitive environment and video card cutting. EBITDA is anticipated to increase year over year in the low single digits driven by cost reduction initiatives implemented in the second half of twenty twenty three. EBITDA growth is also expected in the following quarters at Brise Life. Below the EBITDA line at the consolidated level, we expect acquisition, integration and restructuring to be roughly in line with what was recorded in Q2 of last year. In terms of CapEx, we expect Q2 to be our largest quarter of CapEx spend in fiscal 2024 with approximately 30% of our full year CapEx spend in the quarter.

Speaker 1

This reflects ongoing strategic growth investments, including in network expansions and our mobility preparation. At Cogeco Inc, we have issued the same financial guidelines as Cogeco Communications and are maintaining such guidelines. As we noted on our last Earnings call, we refinanced a large U. S. Debt tranche during the quarter, which extended the debt weighted average term maturity to 5 years and brought the weighted average interest rate on our debt totally to 5.4%.

Speaker 1

In Q2, we expect our financial expense to decrease by about $14,000,000 from Q1 As the loss on debt refinancing, which we booked during the quarter will not reoccur in the upcoming quarter. Finally, with the LoRa share count going forward, we anticipate that dividends at Cogeco Communications will represent the payout of 39% of free cash flow in fiscal 2024 at the midpoint of the guidelines or 27% when excluding network expansions from free cash flow. And now I'll turn the call over to Philippe for concluding remarks.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Patrice. And before we conclude this part of the call, we would like to say that we're delighted That our corporate governance practices have been recognized by the Globe and Mail Board Games as among The best within Canadian Family Control, Dual Class Public Corporations. And now, Beatrice and I will be happy to take your questions.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer One moment please for your first question. Your first question comes from Mayor Yaghi with Scotiabank. Please go ahead.

Speaker 3

I wanted to ask you, I noticed That you are quite active in the holiday period and the Black Friday On OXXIO advertisements and promotions, essentially in Montreal and So I wanted to ask you maybe if you can help us understand the economics of OXIO and how The subscriber loading that you're seeing from that business is translating into margins compared to your existing business. That would be Helpful. Thank you. And if you can help us understand how much of the growth that we saw on the broadband side in Canada Came from Axio. As much information as you can provide, I know you can't give us the numbers maybe, but just And the second question I had on the U.

Speaker 3

S. Business. Are you expecting to see any Pricing power improvement in the second half of the year in the U. S. To offset some of the subscriber pressure that we're seeing over there?

Speaker 3

Thank you.

Speaker 2

First to talk about OXEO, and I think that's where your Question is coming from we are obviously more visible to you and many others as we are marketing outside of our Legacy or traditional footprint with Axios. So we are open for business in other markets. And second, it's a completely different Marketing and sales approach where it's completely digital, but we're highly visible to SEM and SEO Web advertising. So that's I think where you have An impression that we're highly visible and it's true, we are more visible. Our marketing is not as targeted And it is in our traditional footprint.

Speaker 1

Yes. So in terms of margins, without obviously, we don't disclose this at At the brand level, but obviously when we are on footprint because OXXO is available in our footprint as well, The price points for OXXO are a little lower than traditionally with CojuP. It's a pure digital brand. So It's a different go to market strategy, but the cost to service is also lower. So I would say you we typically make bigger margins in footprint with Axio than we would do out of footprint.

Speaker 1

We're basically we are paying PPIA rights to get access to networks. At this point, OXXO is in a high growth mode still. And because of this, there is a higher level of customer acquisition versus the base that it has compared to Cogeco. Overall, that is growing as well, but not as fast as OXXO that is in the high growth mode. In terms of the Q1 additions of 11,000 units, it came from 3 buckets.

Speaker 1

So it came from Otseo, It came also from the network expansions we've been doing, especially the ones that we completed in Quebec and it came also from our legacy footprint. So I will not go more into the details because we're getting very granular at this point, but the three areas have contributed. And in terms of pricing power in the U. S, well, it's normal to have some price increases. We don't talk about the upcoming ones as a practice for competitive reasons.

Speaker 1

But typically every year we'll have some On the products and that's also always decisions we take in relation to where the market is. So the last ones we did We're affected, I believe, Q4 of last year. But normally, we do put some every year.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Patrice. So are we to expect somewhat of a higher ARPU contribution From your U. S. Business as the year progresses because we saw practically no ARPU growth in the quarter, if I'm not mistaken?

Speaker 1

Yes, we do in the back half of the year, we do See some contribution coming from this, which will also contribute to from what we're seeing so far positive EBITDA growth I did mention Q2 in the prepared notes, but that's also true for the balance of the year.

Speaker 3

Okay. Thank you very much.

Speaker 4

Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from Aravinda Galappaty with Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. Sort of a connected question with respect To the Canadian side of the business, again, I mean, for the 3rd or 4th quarter in a row, you're seeing really good broadband net adds. Obviously, with the success you're seeing with the OXIO and also with the footprint expansion, it sort of gets harder to assess the legacy Canadian business. Can you maybe sort of qualitatively kind of give a sense of how sort of the market share swings have trended in recent times, what the competitive intensity has been?

Speaker 4

Any kind of color would be helpful.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Aravinda. Well, of course, we're delighted to see the success of these We've been talking for some time about them as it takes time to build them. And they were Quebec first, Ontario second, and then we have other in progress in the U. S. Now in terms of our legacy business, It is stable for the most part compared to last year.

Speaker 2

It's competitive out there. So of course, we have competitors with coming with Promotions and pricing, we have ours as well. So we grow in Expanded area and we keep our hold on the legacy territory.

Speaker 4

Okay. Thank you. And just a follow-up on your MVNO comments. Just help us understand your thoughts around the U. S.

Speaker 4

P and O initiative. How substantial do you think that Could get, I mean, what kind of regions are you thinking about? How broad are you looking to offer that? Do you have any kind of framework there that you can share at this point? Thank you.

Speaker 2

Yes. Like I've mentioned, we are targeting the states we operate in. So it will be mostly helping customer satisfaction and customer retention. So we don't see it As a growth vector on its own, but it will be combined with existing offers and really enrich our product mix Where we provide service.

Speaker 4

Okay. So to be clear, you would if you launch it would be in all the regions that you're present in the U. S, it won't be sort of staggered?

Speaker 2

Correct. So more to come on our launch plans, but technology will be available throughout our footprint.

Speaker 4

Okay. Awesome. Thank you so much.

Operator

Your next question comes from Vince Valentini with TD Securities. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Thank you very much. If I can start just trying to clarify a couple of things, Patrice. The 3.4 times leverage figure you gave in your Just to be clear that at the end of Q1, it does not factor in the Rogers and Caisse transactions. Do you have the pro form a figure after that?

Speaker 1

Yes. So you're right. And pro form a, it'd be about 0.1 more, so it'd be 3.5 times.

Speaker 5

Thank you. 2nd, you said CapEx up 8% in the 2nd quarter versus the 1st quarter. I'm not sure Is that 8 percentage points or on a capital intensity basis or just 8%?

Speaker 1

So for basically what I was referring to is that We had a low amount of CapEx during the quarter and next quarter will be the reverse. So we should have about 30 Our overall CapEx for the year is spent. Obviously, this can be this can move a little bit because CapEx Can change from week to week, but we should have about 30% of the annual figures spent in the second quarter, if that answers the question.

Speaker 5

Yes. Sorry, it does partially, but the I think you said 8% if I'm unless I'm mistaken versus Q2 Of last year, was that 8 points of capital intensity you're talking about increasing? Or are you just saying if I take Q2 last year And add 8% to it. I assume it's 8 points of intensity given the magnitude of the swing from Q1 to Q2, but I just want to make sure.

Speaker 1

Yes, I'm not exactly sure. So I think it would be better actually to refer to the 30 And perhaps we can take it offline if you want later on today, but the that would be the best figure to use the 30% of the overall year.

Speaker 5

And you're still the guidance hasn't changed even though Q1 came in so low?

Speaker 1

That's right. It's more a question of timing as opposed to A real change in the CapEx profile.

Speaker 2

Cool.

Speaker 5

And on subscriber Trends start with Canada. The you don't want to give us the mix between the 3 buckets, but Can you talk directionally about the rural expansion initiatives, especially the Quebec homes that are done now? Are we at a full run right now? Or you must be able to see sort of when homes were lit up and then when subscribers start to get loaded And how that builds from month to month. So you probably have some sort of predictive model of how these things will pace based on the timing of when Each little territory was built.

Speaker 5

Based on that, is are we now seeing the full run rate Of the Quebec rural households? Or is this still to build and get more subscribers as the year goes on? And then do you start to see some of the Ontario Rural Homes, Larry in as well.

Speaker 1

Yes. So I would say the Quebec Belt, We're pretty much done with it. And the houses were released in Different quarters, I would say the past two quarters were more prevalent in terms of releasing homes. And then typically you have a period of time. We do Plans for a 3 year loading in these networks.

Speaker 1

But because they are subsidized in areas Where there's typically slower speeds, that's why there are subsidies. The 1st year is a bit stronger. So we are in this. We do expect to continue to see significant loadings in Quebec. And then as we're working with the Ontario Program and we have several programs in Ontario.

Speaker 1

This will get added. So it's not a very precise answer, but I would Say once perhaps we start seeing a bit less loading in Quebec, but again this will go on for a few years. You would probably see them see the Ontario houses start to contribute.

Speaker 5

Okay. 2nd last, Canada price increases. You mentioned U. S. Rate increases were done last in Q4 of 2023, can you first off remind us when the last Canadian price increase was?

Speaker 5

And then are you Getting any sense of competitors making moves? We've obviously pretty high profile. We've seen Rogers Announced a proposed rate increase. I don't know if we've seen confirmation from Bell in your regions yet, but given it seems to be I move towards some more typical annual rate increases. You can just remind us what your cadence is and when the last one was in Canada?

Speaker 1

Yes. So I'll start with the last one. So we had a price increase in Canada in October of last year. So that's the last one we did. And similar to what I was saying for the U.

Speaker 1

S, we typically have some increases Every year, the timing of it can change. The products that are affected can change as well. And in terms of competitive intensity, while it's always been competitive in Canada, still is right now. Typically, it's more on the acquisition front where this activity can change quite often during the year with the different programs we have to attract new customers.

Speaker 5

And last one you may predict is coming, but just to ask again, just in case there's And the answer for it, I mean, what is the point of CGO as a separate public company now given how small the float Has become post the Case Rogers transaction. It seems like that was step 1 To collapse the holding company structure, but we haven't seen any announcement yet. So is this just a question of getting the paperwork done and timing? Or do you disagree and is this not Something that you might consider?

Speaker 1

So as you know, I'm sorry, as you know, The reason why we have 2 public companies is for historical reasons that dates back a few decades. And you're probably referring to the fact that we did the recent buybacks and The change in the blocks in the company. It still is a fact that there is a voting structures in the company. So we're always looking at ways of improving value for shareholders in the company. So that is an option, but there is not much more I can say right now.

Speaker 1

So we are not close to anything including this. But anything we do comes with pros and cons and execution Risk as well. So that's something we'll have to evaluate with the Board. So not close to it, but nothing really to announce On that front, on the positive or negative side today. Thank you.

Operator

Your next question comes from Jerome Dubreuil with Desjardins. Please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Hey, Bonjour, Timon. Thanks for First one is a capital allocation or generation maybe I should say. We have a higher leverage now. We have maybe investments in the wireless that are coming. You were talking about accretive deals for the share buybacks.

Speaker 6

What about the U. S? Clearly, we're not seeing the value of the U. S. Cable franchise being reflected in the share price.

Speaker 6

Would you be open to maybe selling a portion of the U. S. Footprint, maybe realize this And improve your pool of capital, you can maybe redeploy or you're still close to the idea and still looking to increase the size?

Speaker 2

In the U. S, we are really focused and remain focused in The quality of our networks, the customer service. So we all Are aware of the challenge we have seen with the increased competition in the marketplace, so we're focused on that. We have seen as well the impact of fixed wireless access and the macroeconomic in this space. This impacts almost everybody.

Speaker 2

But there our focus right now are Operational. In Ohio, we have turned the dial. We are really working for A net positive net adds plan. So we have our eyes on that and that's where the focus of the team is right now to improve the quality of the operations to resume our growth throughout all of the markets.

Speaker 6

Pretty clear. Thanks. The second one is on the lower CapEx in the U. S. I mean, you mentioned inventory drawdowns and the bump in the next Just since you have a new CTO and you have investments coming down the road, is there a change in approach or philosophy that you have in terms of your edge outs maybe or new deployments with government programs or this It was just really a one off in the quarter.

Speaker 1

Yes, it was really a one off in the quarter. So it's not tied to this. As you know, in Canada, we're building we always have some construction that goes on in the areas where we operate when there's new house But we have big programs that are subsidized. In the U. S, we have a bit of subsidized programs right now, But the majority is not.

Speaker 1

It's edging out. So I would say there is no change in strategy With the numbers you saw during the quarter, that being said, as we've discussed before, this is something we always reevaluate In terms of capital allocation, whether we like areas where we're deploying or not depending And where's the market for ARPUs and also competition.

Speaker 6

Thank you. And last one for me is, If you can just confirm that you haven't filed for final offer arbitration yet on the MVNO file?

Speaker 2

Every CRTC process is public and it will be posted on the CRTC webpage.

Speaker 6

Great. That's super cool.

Operator

Your next question comes from Matthew Griffith with Bank of America. Please go ahead.

Speaker 7

Hi, thanks and good morning. Thanks for taking the question. I just wanted to return to OXEO, if I could, just for a second and Just get your comments on whether you're indifferent to adding OXEO brand subs Within your footprint versus the Cogeco brand and very different to adding the OXEO subs obviously outside of the footprint, If you can comment on that. And then just separately in the U. S, it looks like there's a bit of an increase in the Kind of broadband subscriber losses outside of Ohio.

Speaker 7

And I think traditionally this is the footprint where you face Like easier competition perhaps, slower speed DSL. So just if you could comment on what you're seeing that is changing outside of that Ohio footprint and the rest of the territory would be helpful. Thanks.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Matthew. First on OXIO, our strategy there is really to open new customer segments And this is what we're doing. So it's a it's marketed in a different way. And our first goal is really to open up Segments in the markets where we were not as efficient. Of course, it's allowing some customers to switch from one brand to another.

Speaker 2

But the 1st and foremost goal is really to open new segments and allow those that are more price sensitive actually To locate their the best price and value they want in a larger portfolio. Now as to outside of our In the U. S, your question about outside and legacy territories, we have really focused on customer Lifetime value, as I said earlier, the customers, we encourage always customers to actually move up in speed Or in our product ladder, so we improve ARPUs. We can afford better service Customer with more our core customer and that's how we balance TSUs with financial performance. So that was and remain our focus throughout our footprint.

Speaker 2

We want to up the ladder when it comes to product mix.

Speaker 7

Okay, good. That's helpful. And maybe if I could sneak one other one in just on BEAT. I know it's early in the process, but do you have a sense If there are some states within your territory that are maybe going to be kind of leaders in this process and then maybe there are some others that you're are going to kind of follow later behind. If there's any color at this stage that you can give on kind of how that is shaking out across the territory, be interesting.

Speaker 2

Yes. As you suggested in your question, it's very early. I think at this stage, every player is Analyzing what they shall best be doing, it's also a per state A process, so a lot of information is coming down from NTIA to the states, but There is much more information that needs to be known. You can certainly assume as a good starting point that proximity is One of the leading factor in selection of bidding.

Speaker 7

Great. Thank you so much.

Operator

Your next question comes from Stephanie Price with CIBC. Please go ahead.

Speaker 8

Hi, good morning. I was curious about the U. S. Margin. I was hoping you could break down the 7% OpEx decrease in the U.

Speaker 8

S. In the quarter by Cost cuts and programming costs and sales efforts. And I'm just wondering if you could would characterize the OpEx savings seen this Quarter starting permanent margin expansion in the region. And maybe finally, just how we should think those possibilities are upside from further cost cuts?

Speaker 1

Sure. So when you look at the EBITDA margin in the U. S, we it was basically 48% in Q1. That was 0.5 point higher than the previous quarter, but a little more than 1% versus the previous year. So it is going up.

Speaker 1

It's a mix of things. So we have we caution to always look for ways to improve our operations. So We had a bit of workforce reduction going on in Q4 of last year, so that benefits this year. We are doing a lot of effort as well on digitizing our operations, improving the IVRs This phone systems that people use and be able to provide answers on an automated fashion to customers and basically Improve the way we manage our cost in the contact centers. We have also in terms of mix of product as there is more video cord cutting in the U.

Speaker 1

S. Versus Canada, The video costs obviously are more important than what you see on the Internet side. So that mix also produces a higher EBITDA margin. I don't know if that answers your question.

Speaker 8

It does. Thank you. And then just post the spectrum auction, hope you could talk a little bit about your spectrum strategy, Whether you have enough spectrum to roll the MVNO and what the options are for any excess spectrum that you might possess?

Speaker 2

Well, our Spectrum portfolio is For the most part, the sum of what we have purchased in the 35 auction, the first auction And the $35,000,000 in the $3,500,000,000 ban. And now we've top up many of our markets and supplemented that So with 38. So you can see that we're going for spectrum that is the best suited for 5 gs. That is clear from our strategy and we are very happy to have successfully execute 1st coverage, we now have 100 percent of our wireline coverage and second, enough capacity to operate and be competitive in the market.

Speaker 8

Okay. Thank you very much.

Operator

Your next question comes from Drew Mick Reynolds with RBC. Please go ahead.

Speaker 9

Yes, thanks very much. Good morning. Just a couple of others for me. Philippe, in your opening remarks, you talked within Ohio you're making progress, but have some more work to do. Can you just give us a sense of what Still is kind of to be finished or to be determined or to be built up in terms of turning around that Internet trajectory.

Speaker 9

And then second, maybe for you Patrice, just not looking for specific guidance, but you've been helpful on the medium term consolidated CapEx Intense of the outlook for Cogeco and specifically you've commented I think last that I think fiscal 2020 6% is when you maybe fall back below 20% CapEx intensity. Are you able To reiterate that or provide an update on just where you think things are going to project medium term? Thank you.

Speaker 2

Sure. First question,

Speaker 1

Let me start maybe with the second one then. So on CapEx, Obviously, we do segregate, as you said, the CapEx between regular CapEx and The one that includes expansions. Most of The CapEx going on and obviously Quebec is done in Canada. We're very focused on Ontario in fiscal 2024 And 2025 as well. So it is true that based on our current forecast in fiscal 2026, this number will come down.

Speaker 1

There's still going to be some Remaining work in Ontario in fiscal 2026 based on our current plans, but at a lower To a lower extent than in fiscal 2025. When we look at the U. S, These, as I was saying before, are mainly not subsidized. That's our choice. We do expect that by fiscal 2026, So this number will have come down a lot.

Speaker 1

The only question mark will be the BEAT program we were talking about. If we do win these some of these subsidized programs, This will provide will generate additional CapEx, but we have under the rules 4 years to build under BEAT Once an area is 1, so this can be paged over several years.

Speaker 2

Sorry, Drew, I will focus on your second question and I lost the first one. So back to Ohio and what's left for you to do there. So You'll remember that for many quarters, we invested in Bettering the quality, the performance, the capacity of the network in the regions, it took time, but it's paying off. For example, in Columbus, the local newspaper, the Columbus Dispatch has now voted us The best network in the City of Columbus. So we needed to go through that to the Time it took to enhance the performance.

Speaker 2

Now we have the best network in Columbus. The second part is branding. We for many quarters have Invested to elevate this Breezeline new brand in a market where there are 4 or 5 players. We're the 5th one. T Mo and Verizon are all over the place as AT and T and Charter.

Speaker 2

So branding, we're making progress. It will take some quarters for us to be net positive and find growth again, but we have Significantly reduced the decline and now we're working our way up to a net positive, but it will take Several quarters from here. Across that time.

Speaker 9

That's helpful context. One Quick last one on the timing of U. S. Wireless and coming up with your MVNO arrangements, I may have missed this, but any timeframe for when You can kind of launch that offering in the U. S.

Speaker 9

Market?

Speaker 2

As I said, in the near future. Stay tuned.

Speaker 1

Okay. All right. Thanks very much.

Operator

There are no further questions at this time. Please proceed.

Speaker 1

Okay. Well, thanks everyone for being on the call today. As usual, Troy and I are available. If you have additional questions, feel free to reach out. And thank you everyone for being there today.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

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Key Takeaways

  • Spectrum expansion and MVNO strategy: Cogeco secured nearly $600 million in 3.8 GHz licenses to cover 100% of its wireline footprint and is negotiating MVNO access in Canada while advancing commercial MVNO talks in the US.
  • Share buybacks: In December, the company repurchased shares of both Cogeco Communications and Cogeco Inc., boosting net asset value, public float, and free cash flow per share following Rogers’ stake sale.
  • Q1 financials in line: Q1 2024 revenue and adjusted EBITDA met expectations, with Canadian internet adds of ~11 000 offsetting video/phone declines, and US revenue down 6% with a 3.6% EBITDA decline cushioned by cost and product-mix efficiencies.
  • Fiber-to-the-home growth: Added over 13 000 homes passed in Q1 (209 000 since early 2022), driving higher-speed ARPU gains and EBITDA margin expansion, supported by government subsidy programs and ~30% of full-year capex slated for Q2.
  • Guidance maintained: Fiscal 2024 outlook remains unchanged—expecting low single-digit revenue declines, ~100 bps of EBITDA margin headwind in Q2, stable net debt/EBITDA at 3.4×, and a dividend payout near 39% of free cash flow.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Cogeco Q1 2024
00:00 / 00:00