BCI Announces First Quarter Results.Business Editors MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2001 -- Telecom Americas' total subscribers surpass 4 million mark at March 31 -- Agreements reached to further expand Brazilian Mobile Footprint The amount of geographic space covered by an object. A computer footprint is the desk or floor surface it occupies. A satellite's footprint is the earth area covered by its downlink. See form factor. 1. Bell Canada Bell Canada Enterprises (TSX: BCE, NYSE: BCE), legally BCE Inc., is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Through its subsidiaries including Bell Canada, Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for International Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :BCICF)(TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). :BI.) ("BCI BCI Bat Conservation International BCI Brain-Computer Interface BCI Business Continuity Institute BCI Business Cycle Indicators BCI Banco de Credito e Inversiones (Chilean bank) BCI Bell Canada International ") today released results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2001. BCI President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , Louis Louis, titular duke of Burgundy Louis, 1682–1712, titular duke of Burgundy; grandson of King Louis XIV of France. He became heir to the throne on the death (1711) of his father, Louis the Great Dauphin. Tanguay stated, "During the quarter, we made significant progress towards our goal of giving BCI shareholders a stake in a Latin Lat·in n. 1. a. The Indo-European language of the ancient Latins and Romans and the most important cultural language of western Europe until the end of the 17th century. b. American American, river, 30 mi (48 km) long, rising in N central Calif. in the Sierra Nevada and flowing SW into the Sacramento River at Sacramento. The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill (see Sutter, John Augustus) along the river in 1848 led to the California gold rush of player of consequence. Our Latin American joint venture, Telecom Americas A·mer·i·cas , the See America. , reached agreements to further expand its Brazilian mobile footprint, including the acquisition of Tess which closed in the second quarter. Following the closing of all these agreements in the second quarter, Telecom Americas will hold interests in four Brazilian cellular companies serving over 3.6 million subscribers in licensed territories with a population of 60 million, including the three contiguous Adjacent or touching. Contrast with fragmentation. See contiguous file. territories of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, city, Brazil Rio de Janeiro (rē`ō də zhänā`rō, Port. rē`  thĭ zhənĕē`r , Sao Paulo Paulo is the Portuguese form of the given name Paul:
Mr. Tanguay added, "Commencing this quarter, we are presenting our results in a manner which will help investors gain a clearer picture of the Company's operational performance and future potential." BASIS OF REPORTING Last year, BCI announced its intention to divest To deprive or take away. Divest is usually used in reference to the relinquishment of authority, power, property, or title. If, for example, an individual is disinherited, he or she is divested of the right to inherit money. all its Asian assets and to focus its activities in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. . With the completion of the Asian divestment divestment to strip one's investment from an entity. program during the first quarter and the continuing discussions regarding the disposition of BCI's non-core interests in Mexican Mexican named after or originating in Mexico. Mexican axolotl see ambystomamexicanum. Mexican beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum and Brazilian competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), BCI has treated its properties outside Telecom Americas (the "Asia Mobile" and "Latin America CLEC (Competitive Local Exchange Carrier) An organization offering local telephone service that is not one of the traditional telephone companies. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 allowed competition to the incumbent telcos (ILECs), enabling new companies (CLECs) " segments) as Discontinued Operations Discontinued operations Divisions of a business that have been sold or written off and that no longer are maintained by the business. as of the first quarter of 2001. As a result, BCI's financial results will more closely reflect those of Telecom Americas. All previous quarters have been restated to reflect this treatment. In addition, to facilitate more meaningful comparisons in the discussion which follows, the results of previous quarters have also been "normalized" to reflect BCI's current ownership in Telecom Americas and to include the results of the Brazilian cellular company, ATL (Active Template Library) A set of software routines from Microsoft that provide the basic framework for creating ActiveX and COM objects. Stemming from the standard template library (STL) that comes with C++ compilers, ATL includes an object wizard that sets up , which was contributed to Telecom Americas by BCI's partners, Mexico's America America [for Amerigo Vespucci], the lands of the Western Hemisphere—North America, Central (or Middle) America, and South America. The world map published in 1507 by Martin Waldseemüller is the first known cartographic use of the name. Movil and Texas-based SBC (1) (SBC Communications Inc., San Antonio, TX, www.sbc.com) A large, national telecommunications company that grew from a multitude of local and regional companies, including Southwestern Bell, Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, into a single, unified brand by 2002. Communications. RESULTS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS continuing operations Parts of a business that are expected to be maintained as an ongoing segment of an overall business operation. Income and losses from continuing operations are reported separately if any segments have been discontinued during the First Quarter 2001 v. Fourth Quarter 2000 Total subscribers served by Telecom Americas increased 9% to 4.1 million as at March 31, 2001 from 3.8 million as at December December: see month. 31, 2000. The increase in total subscribers is attributable to strong subscriber growth at the cellular companies, Comcel and Telet. Consolidated revenues generated by BCI's continuing operations for the first quarter of 2001 were $88 million compared to normalized consolidated revenues of $95 million in the fourth quarter of 2000. The reduction in revenues is attributable to lower handset The part of the telephone that contains the speaker and the microphone. On a desktop phone, the part you hold in your hand is the handset. On a cellphone, the entire phone is the handset. See multihandset cordless and headset. sales in the first quarter following the traditionally strong fourth quarter sales in Brazil generated by pre-Christmas promotions. However, service revenues increased during the first quarter. Consolidated EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become was a positive $2.7 million in the first quarter of 2001 compared to normalized EBITDA of negative $3.4 million for the fourth quarter. The increase in first quarter EBITDA is attributable primarily to improved EBITDA performance at all mobile operations, with Telet having joined ATL and Comcel as a contributor of positive EBITDA. BCI reported a net loss from continuing operations applicable to common shares of $179 million in the first quarter of 2001, compared to a normalized net loss of $81 million in the fourth quarter of 2000. The larger loss in the first quarter reflected foreign exchange losses on US dollar-denominated obligations, in contrast to the foreign exchange gains in the fourth quarter of 2000, when the Canadian dollar Noun 1. Canadian dollar - the basic unit of money in Canada; "the Canadian dollar has the image of loon on one side of the coin" loonie dollar - the basic monetary unit in many countries; equal to 100 cents strengthened against the US dollar. During the first quarter, BCI also recorded a loss (including a write down to market value) on SK Telecom shares which had been received in July of 2000 as part of the consideration for the sale of its interest in the Korean PCS (1) (Personal Communications Services) Refers to wireless services that emerged after the U.S. government auctioned commercial licenses in 1994 and 1995. This radio spectrum in the 1. provider, Hansol M.Com. First Quarter 2001 v. First Quarter 2000 Telecom Americas' 4.1 million total subscribers as at March 31, 2001 represented a 66% increase in normalized total subscribers from 2.5 million as at March 31, 2000, with substantially all new customers subscribing to prepaid pre·pay tr.v. pre·paid, pre·pay·ing, pre·pays To pay or pay for beforehand. pre·pay  ment n. service.Consolidated revenues from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2001 increased 14% from normalized consolidated revenues of $77 million in the first quarter of 2000. The increase in revenues is mainly attributable to the growth in the prepaid segment of the Brazilian and Colombian mobile companies. The lower rate of growth in revenues relative to subscriber growth reflects the migration to prepaid service, with prepaid subscribers generating lower average revenues per user. Consolidated EBITDA in the first quarter of 2001 was $10 million below normalized consolidated EBITDA of $13 million in the first quarter of 2000. The reduction in EBITDA is attributable to a lower EBITDA contribution from Comcel caused by higher subscriber acquisition costs. BCI's net loss from continuing operations applicable to common shares of $179 million for the first quarter of 2001 compares to a normalized net loss of $74 million in the first quarter of 2000. The larger loss in the first quarter is attributable primarily to foreign exchange losses and the loss on SK Telecom shares. DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS BCI's discontinued operations generated a net gain of $384 million in the first quarter of 2001 relative to a net loss of $ 21 million in the fourth quarter of 2000 and a net loss of $72 million in the first quarter of 2000. The net gain in the first quarter of 2001 was attributable to the sale of BCI's 20% interest in the Taiwanese PCS provider, KG Telecom, partially offset by higher losses at the Brazilian CLECs - Vesper Sao Paulo and Vesper S.A. ("the Vespers vespers (vĕs`pərz) [Lat.,=evening], in the Christian Church, principal evening office. In the Roman rite, vespers have consisted since the 6th cent. of a few prayers, five psalms, a lesson, the Magnificat, and an antiphon. "). In February, BCI announced the termination of an agreement with VeloCom Inc. of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. to sell its interest in the Vespers, following the failure of VeloCom to arrange the necessary financing. During the first quarter, BCI's interest in the Vespers was reduced from 34.4% to 32.1% following a decision to decline participation in an aggregate US$60 million capital call. BCI continues to participate in discussions with its partners and interested third parties regarding the divestment of its stake in the Vespers. BCI is also exploring a number of options to maximize value through a timely disposition of its interest in Axtel of Mexico. BCI NET EARNINGS (LOSS) TO COMMON SHARES Taking into account both continuing and discontinued operations, BCI recorded net earnings applicable to common shares of $205 million in the first quarter of 2001 relative to a normalized net loss of $102 million in the fourth quarter of 2000 and $145 million in the first quarter of 2000.
OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS AND STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS
-- On February 23, BCI announced the completion of the transaction to
sell its 20% minority interest in the Taiwanese PCS provider, KG
Telecom. The sale of the KG stake completed the divestment of
BCI's Asian assets - a divestment program which resulted in total
gross proceeds of $2.3 billion and a net gain of $1.6 billion.
-- The Brazilian mobile operations of Telecom Americas (ATL, Telet
and Americel) added 136,000 subscribers during the first quarter
to serve 2.7 million total subscribers, with Telet experiencing a
15% growth in subscribers.
-- On February 12, Telecom Americas signed an agreement to acquire
effective ownership of the equity of Tess, the Brazilian B Band
cellular company which, as at December 31, 2000, served
approximately 940,000 subscribers in the Coastal and Interior
regions of Sao Paulo State outside Metropolitan Sao Paulo itself.
On April 9, Telecom Americas purchased Tess and announced that it
had granted a six month option to BellSouth Corporation to acquire
50% of its stake in Tess. BellSouth holds significant interests in
two other Brazilian B Band operations in Metro Sao Paulo and the
Northeast region operating under the name "BCP".
-- On March 13, Telecom Americas reached agreements with a group of
Brazilian pension and investment funds and Telesystem
International Wireless Inc. (TIW) to acquire an approximate
additional 65% economic interest in Telet and Americel. The
transaction with TIW was closed on March 30. Upon the closing of
all the transactions, (which is expected during the second
quarter), Telecom Americas will hold an approximate 81% economic
interest in both Telet and Americel.
-- The Colombian cellular company, Comcel, increased its subscriber
base by 186,000 during the first quarter to exceed 1.2 million
customers - the second consecutive quarter of 18% growth.
-- The Brazilian broadband cable company, Canbras Communications
Corp. ("Canbras") (TSE: CBC) successfully completed a rights
offering which generated gross proceeds in the amount of $99.1
million. The funds are being used to repay outstanding bank
indebtedness and to build out Canbras' two-way broadband network
in Metro Sao Paulo.
-- During the first quarter, the Venezuelan broadband wireless
company, Genesis Telecom, completed the acquisition of nation-wide
WLL licences. Genesis intends to use the WLL licences to provide
Venezuelan businesses with a broad suite of high-speed data and
voice services.
-- An element of the agreement forming Telecom Americas was the
eventual contribution by America Movil of a 60% interest in the
Argentine broadband company, TechTel upon receipt of regulatory
approval. Telecom Americas' partner in TechTel will be the leading
Argentine industrial group, Techint. It is expected that Argentine
regulatory approvals will be received during the second quarter of
2001. During the first quarter of 2001, TechTel continued to
expand its 1,800 km fibre optic network in the major cities of
Argentina, including Buenos Aires, Rosario, Cordoba and Mendoza.
In addition, a TechTel subsidiary is now present in the city of
Montevideo in neighbouring Uruguay.
BCI owns and develops advanced communications companies Communications Company is a communications unit of the United States Marine Corps. They are part of Combat Logistics Regiment 37 , 3rd Marine Logistics Group (3MLG) and III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF). The unit is based out of the Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. in markets outside Canada, with a focus on Latin America. A subsidiary of BCE BCE abbr. 1. Bachelor of Chemical Engineering 2. Bachelor of Civil Engineering BCE Abbreviation for before the Common Era. Inc., Canada's largest communications company, BCI is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) Canada's largest stock exchange, trading approximately 1,200 company stocks and 33 options. under the symbol BI and on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol BCICF. Visit our Web site at www.bci.ca. Certain statements made in this press release describing BCI's intentions, expectations or predictions are forward-looking and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. For additional information with respect to risk factors relevant to BCI, see the reports on Forms 6-K and 40-F filed by BCI with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the Annual Information Form filed with Canadian Canadian (kənā`dēən), river, 906 mi (1,458 km) long, rising in NE New Mexico. and flowing E across N Texas and central Oklahoma into the Arkansas River in E Oklahoma. securities commissions. BCI disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. , whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Selected Consolidated Financial Information (Unaudited)
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First Quarter 2001
(Cdn$ thousands)
Three months ended
March 31,
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2001 2000
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Income Statement and Cash Flow
Revenues 88,088 118,438
EBITDA (1) 2,676 26,306
Net earnings (loss) from continuing
operations applicable to common
shares (2) (179,301) (105,252)
Net earnings (loss) applicable to
common shares 204,789 (177,089)
As at As at
March 31, December 31,
2001 2000
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Balance Sheet
Cash, temporary investments and
notes receivable
BCI Corporate 635,387 315,563
Telecom Americas Corporate (net) 601,414 811,893
Operating Companies 108,856 54,417
Total assets 4,649,954 4,442,017
Short-term debt
BCI Corporate (net) 656,425 805,979
Operating Companies 188,408 220,171
Long-term debt (3)
BCI Corporate 160,000 160,000
Operating Companies 1,793,509 1,528,422
Total shareholders' equity 854,751 619,681
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Selected Proportionate Information (Unaudited) (4)
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First Quarter 2001
(Cdn$ thousands except POPs and subscribers)
Three months ended
March 31,
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2001 2000(5)
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Proportionate POPs (millions) 23.5 19.9
Proportionate subscribers 972,639 747,893
Proportionate revenue 67,783 53,130
Proportionate EBITDA 2,119 5,510
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(1) EBITDA means operating earnings before depreciation and
amortization.
(2) Net earnings (loss) from continuing operations applicable to
common shares means Net earnings (loss) from continuing operations
less Interest on convertible debentures.
(3) Long-term debt includes current portion of long-term debt.
(4) Proportionate numbers reflect BCI's percentage ownership interest
in each of its operations. Operations which under generally
accepted accounting principles are consolidated are
proportionately presented on this basis.
(5) Normalized to reflect BCI's current ownership in Telecom Americas
and to include the results of ATL.
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BCI Continuing Operations
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As at March 31, 2001
POPs
(Millions)(1) Subscribers
----------------------------------------
Company Equity Propor- Propor-
(Country) Interest Total tionate Total tionate
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Brazil Mobile
ATL (Brazil) 26.1% 17.5 4.6 1,664,943 434,550
Americel (Brazil) 14.5% 14.2 2.1 421,593 61,131
Telet (Brazil) 14.5% 10.2 1.5 600,837 87,121
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41.9 8.2 2,687,373 582,802
Brazil Broadband
Canbras - Cable
(Brazil)(2) 33.5% 1.9 0.6 185,948 38,838
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Spanish Americas Mobile
Comcel (Colombia)
(2) 31.6% 34.6 9.7 1,216,020 350,953
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Spanish Americas
Broadband
Genesis Telecom
(Venezuela) 22.6% 22.0 5.0 205 46
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TOTAL - BCI CONTINUING
OPERATIONS 100.4 23.5 4,089,546 972,639
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(1) Licensed POPs reflect estimates by BCI. The figures for Canbras
Communications represent the estimated number of households in the
licenced areas.
(2) Proportionate POPs and subscribers for Comcel and Canbras include
equity interests in underlying operating entities.
THE BCI Q1 RESULTS CONFERENCE CALL WILL BE WEBCAST LIVE TODAY AT 4:00 P.M. (EST EST electroshock therapy. EST abbr. electroshock therapy ) AT WWW.BCI.CA |
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