BCE Inc. says its latest quarter delivered a higher profit and revenue than the telecommunications firm saw a year earlier.
The parent company of Bell Canada said Thursday that its second-quarter net earnings attributable to common shareholders amounted to $579 million or 63 cents per share. The result compared with a profit of $537 million or 59 cents per share a year prior.
"Bell's second quarter results showcase our sharp focus on executing our strategic plan and delivering value for customers and shareholders," said president and CEO Mirko Bibic in a press release.
Operating revenue for the quarter ended June 30 totalled $6.08 billion compared with about $6 billion a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE earned 63 cents per share, down from an adjusted profit of 78 cents per share a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 71 cents per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG Data & Analytics.
Meanwhile, the company revised its guidance higher to reflect the recent closing of its deal to buy U.S. fibre internet provider Ziply Fiber for about $5 billion.
BCE now expects revenue growth of zero to two per cent in 2025, compared with its previous guidance that forecast between a three per cent loss and one per cent gain in revenue.
BCE had a net gain of 44,547 postpaid mobile phone subscribers in its second quarter, compared with 78,500 net activations during the same period a year earlier. The company once again cited a "less active market," slowing population growth due to federal immigration policies, and its own focus on "higher-value subscriber loadings" for the decrease.
The company said customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — was 1.06 per cent, down 0.12 per cent from a year ago. That marked its first quarter of year-over-year improvement since 2022.
BCE's mobile phone average revenue per user was $57.61, down 0.7 per cent from $58.04 a year ago. It said that was due to the pressures of competition and discounting, lower data overage revenue as customers increasingly subscribe to unlimited or large capacity data plans, and lower roaming revenue amid decreased travel to the United States.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2025.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
