Telus Corp. reeled in more cellphone subscribers than its rivals in the first quarter, but two trends that surfaced last year continue to plague its wireless unit: a rise in customer turnover and subscribers spending slightly less each month on cellphone services.
First-quarter revenue at Telus's wireless business rose 10 per cent in the quarter, compared with a 4.1-per-cent gain at the unit that sells phone, Internet and TV services.
Telus chief financial officer Robert McFarlane called the wireless results "encouraging." It added 88,400 cellphone subscribers, compared to 34,000 at Bell Canada and 68,000 at Rogers Communications Inc.
ARPU, or average monthly wireless customer bills, slipped less than in previous quarters, dipping 15 cents to $61.88. Telus blamed lower revenue for voice services, which offset rising demand for data services.
Churn climbed to 1.53 per cent from 1.35 per cent. That measure has increased because clients can now take their cellphone number with them when they switch carriers.
Telus posted a 6.6-per-cent increase in revenue for the quarter to $2.35-billion, and a profit increase to $291-million, or 90 cents a share, from $194.8-million, or 58 cents.
TELUS CORP. (T)
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