Shaw spends $276 mn on capital expenditure

Shaw Communications said capital expenditures in the second quarter ended February 29, 2020 was $276 million.
Shaw Communications investmentWireline capital spending increased $28 million compared to the prior year primarily due to the timing of expenditures.

Wireless spending decreased $31 million due to costs associated with the deployment of 700 MHz spectrum and expansion of the wireless network in the previous year.

Revenue of Shaw Communications increased by 3.7 percent to $1.36 billion and EBITDA rose 9.5 percent to $600 million.

“Our network performance has been exceptional. It is because of the significant facilities-based investments and strong and capable networks,” Brad Shaw, chief executive officer and executive chair, said.

Shaw added 54,000 post-paid customers. Its wireless subscriber base reached 1.8 million customers in Q2. It achieved ABPU and ARPU growth of 6.8 percent and 3.1 percent respectively.

Consumer Internet additions grew by approximately 6,100 and video losses improved over the prior year due to the success of customer segmentation initiatives, including BlueCurve Total.

The latest IDC report said telecom services market in Canada will contract by almost C$2 billion with the overall revenue expected to fall to C$47.9 billion – a negative -0.8 per cent decline from a year earlier. IDC had projected 3.2 percent growth for the telecom sector in 2020. IT spending in Canada is expected to decline by 5 percent in 2020.