BCX. BCE MOBILE Reports First Quarter 1999 Results -- Cellular and PCS Net Additions Up 230 Percent.MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 1999-- BCE BCE abbr. 1. Bachelor of Chemical Engineering 2. Bachelor of Civil Engineering BCE Abbreviation for before the Common Era. Mobile Communications Inc. (ME:BCX BCX Beloreck (Russia) .) (TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). :BCX.) (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BCX) (BCE Mobile) today announced unaudited operating and financial results for the first quarter 1999. SUBSCRIBERS Consolidated con·sol·i·date v. con·sol·i·dat·ed, con·sol·i·dat·ing, con·sol·i·dates v.tr. 1. To unite into one system or whole; combine: gross activation activation /ac·ti·va·tion/ (ak?ti-va´shun) 1. the act or process of rendering active. 2. the transformation of a proenzyme into an active enzyme by the action of a kinase or another enzyme. 3. figures for the first quarter were 177,000, including 131,000 for its cellular and 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. service, up 79 percent from 73,000 reported for the first quarter of 1998, and 46,000 pager additions, down from the 64,000 reported last year. Included in cellular and PCS gross additions were 68,000 additions to its prepaid pre·pay tr.v. pre·paid, pre·pay·ing, pre·pays To pay or pay for beforehand. pre·pay  ment n. subscriber subscriber,n the person, usually the employee, who represents the family unit in relation to the prepayment plan. Other family members are dependents. Also called certificate holders or enrollees. base. The company also reported combined cellular and PCS churn churn: see butter. of 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 1999, unchanged from 1.4 percent in the same period in 1998. The reported churn figure includes prepaid deactivations. Consolidated subscribers were 2,088,000 at March 31, 1999, up 68,000 since December December: see month. 31 and up 358,000 or 21 percent since March 31, 1998. BCE Mobile ended the quarter with 1,541,000 cellular and PCS customers, up 66,000 from December 31, 1998 and up 300,000 or 24 percent from March 31, 1998. Included in the cellular and PCS base were 247,000 digital customers and 217,000 prepaid customers. Pagers in service numbered 544,000, up 2,000 in the quarter and up 58,000 or 12 percent since March 31, 1998. Randall Randall may refer to the following: In places:
REVENUES The quarterly revenue contribution of cellular and PCS service operations increased 2 percent from $220.7 million to $224.4 million, reflecting growth in the subscriber base partly offset by lower revenue per subscriber. Revenue per subscriber decreased from $60 per month in the first quarter of 1998, to $50 per month in 1999. The decrease was due to the combined impacts of lower pricing, the changing mix of subscribers, and to a revenue shortfall Shortfall The amount by which the capital required to fulfill a financial obligation exceeds available capital. Notes: Shortfall risk is often combated with an efficient hedging strategy created by a fund, group, institution, or individual. caused by the inability of the company's prepaid billing system to handle the rapid growth in prepaid traffic. This issue has been successfully resolved with the replacement of the prepaid billing system. The company estimates that the service revenue shortfall related to the billing issue totaled approximately $10 million in the three months ended March 31, 1999, or about $2 per cellular and PCS subscriber per month. Paging services contributed $18.5 million in the quarter compared to $18.9 million in the first quarter of 1998. Revenues from equipment sales and other operations totaled $51.3 million for the quarter compared to $57.7 million in 1998. The decline reflects lower hardware pricing related to changes in the company's dealer compensation plan, partly offset by a higher volume of 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. Consolidated revenues for the quarter were $294.2 million down 1 percent from $297.3 million in the first quarter of 1998. COST OF ACQUISITION, 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 & MARGIN Cellular and PCS cost of acquisition before migration costs (COA (Certificate Of Authenticity) A document that accompanies software which states that it is an original package from the manufacturer. It generally includes a seal with a difficult-to-copy emblem such as a holographic image. ) was $449 per gross subscriber addition compared to $460 in the fourth quarter of 1998 and to $666 in the first quarter of 1998. The cost reduction relative to the Q1 1998 COA figure reflects higher gross additions and the success of prepaid. Consolidated operating income Operating Income The profit realized from a business' own operations. Notes: This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit. before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $73.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 1999, down from $80.0 million in the first quarter of 1998. The prepaid billing issue reduced EBITDA by an estimated $8 million. The quarterly combined cellular and PCS EBITDA margin was 29 percent compared to 32 percent in 1998. NET INCOME Net loss for the quarter was $(4.3) million ($(0.06) per share) compared to net income of $3.1 million ($0.04 per share) in the first quarter of 1998. The decrease was mainly due to lower EBITDA and higher depreciation charges. BCE Mobile's subsidiaries, operating under the Bell Mobility banner Same as banner ad. 1. banner - The title page added to printouts by most print spoolers. Typically includes user or account ID information in very large character-graphics capitals. , provide a full range of wireless communications wireless communications System using radio-frequency, infrared, microwave, or other types of electromagnetic or acoustic waves in place of wires, cables, or fibre optics to transmit signals or data. services to 2.1 million Canadians This is a list of Canadians. Architects
World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. (ticker symbol Ticker Symbol An arrangement of characters (usually letters) representing a particular security listed on an exchange or otherwise traded publicly. When a company issues securities to the public marketplace, it selects an available ticker symbol for its securities which investors :BCX).
STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(unaudited)
THREE MONTHS ended March 31
($000) 1999 1998 1997
------------------------------------------------------------
(see note below)
Revenues
Cellular and PCS service 224,364 220,749 196,546
Paging service 18,494 18,888 17,124
Equipment sales & other 51,324 57,660 43,806
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294,182 297,297 257,476
Operating costs 122,377 108,996 82,171
Selling costs 47,548 58,621 44,141
General and admin. expenses 50,905 49,729 43,163
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Operating income before
depreciation & amortization 73,352 79,951 88,001
& special charges
Depreciation & amortization 64,814 59,353 47,176
------------------------------------------------------------
Operating income 8,538 20,598 40,825
Interest expense (10,219) (12,851) (9,624)
Other - net (2,310) (335) (176)
------------------------------------------------------------
Income (loss) before
income taxes (3,991) 7,412 31,025
Income taxes - current (2,221) 158 11,457
- deferred 2,483 4,163 1,546
------------------------------------------------------------
262 4,321 13,003
------------------------------------------------------------
Net income (loss) (4,253) 3,091 18,022
============================================================
Earnings (loss) per common
share (dollars) ($0.06) $0.04 $0.26
============================================================
Average number of common
shares outstanding (000) 76,777 71,017 69,356
Note: Cellular and PCS service revenues and operating costs reflect
the reclassification of outbound roaming revenues
BALANCE SHEETS
March 31 December 31
($000) 1999 1998
(unaudited) (audited)
Assets
Current assets
Cash and temporary cash investments - 16,502
Accounts receivable --
third parties 189,432 207,828
Inventories 52,153 37,946
Prepaid expenses & other
current assets 61,204 35,647
------------------------------------------------------------
302,789 297,923
Fixed assets -- net 1,247,214 1,282,412
Investments & other assets 133,465 135,219
------------------------------------------------------------
1,683,468 1,715,554
============================================================
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Bank overdraft 11,582 -
Accounts payable and other 191,323 266,329
Short-term loans from parent - -
Debt due within one year 2,382 2,324
------------------------------------------------------------
205,287 268,653
Long-term debt 574,131 541,578
Other liabilities 29,751 27,052
------------------------------------------------------------
809,169 837,283
Shareholders' Equity
Share capital and
contributed surplus 732,617 732,336
Retained earnings 141,682 145,935
------------------------------------------------------------
874,299 878,271
------------------------------------------------------------
1,683,468 1,715,554
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CASH FLOW STATEMENTS
(unaudited)
1999 1998 1997
------------------------------------------------------------
Operating activities
Net income (loss) (4,253) 3,091 18,022
Adjustments for:
Depreciation & amortization 64,814 59,353 47,176
Deferred income taxes 2,483 4,163 1,546
Other 1,997 562 320
------------------------------------------------------------
65,041 67,169 67,064
Change in working capital (96,114) (7,117) (51,514)
------------------------------------------------------------
(31,073) 60,052 15,550
Investing activities
Capital expenditures (28,871) (71,106) (90,210)
Proceeds of sale 104 - -
Investments & other (4,331) (4,526) (2,254)
------------------------------------------------------------
(33,098) (75,632) (92,464)
Free cash flow (64,171) (15,580) (76,914)
Financing activities
Increase (decrease) in debt 35,806 (85,655) 80,784
Issue of share capital & other 281 257,000 230
------------------------------------------------------------
36,087 171,345 81,014
Cash and cash equivalents position
Increase (decrease)
during period (28,084) 155,765 4,100
At beginning of period 16,502 (15,776) (9,639)
------------------------------------------------------------
At end of period (11,582) 139,989 (5,539)
============================================================
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash on hand and balances
with banks (11,582) 7,896 (5,539)
Short-term investments - 132,093 -
------------------------------------------------------------
Total cash and cash
equivalents (11,582) 139,989 (5,539)
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