Rogers executive talks of raising cable prices
Feb. 28, 2006. 01:45 PM
CANADIAN PRESS
Rogers Communications (TSX: RCI.NV.B) expects more moderate growth in its Internet and digital cable TV subscriber base this year but will be able to push through price increases, a senior executive said Tuesday.
"The good news, I think, on both is that there is actually some pricing power," Rogers vice-president finance John Gossling said in a webcast speech at an investor conference in Palm Beach, Fla.
"Unlike the competitive situation down here (in the U.S.), the prices on Internet and TV have been actually moving up quite nicely (for Rogers) in the last little while.
"We don't seem to have the competitive pressure to take these decent-margin products and move their prices down, so we're seeing good lift there," Gossling said.
Rogers Communications, which owns Canada's largest cable company as well as its largest wireless carrier and one of its biggest media businesses, announced several price increases when it released its fourth-quarter and 2005 financial results on Feb. 9.
Gossling said at the Bear, Stearns & Co. conference that, after a slow start with the launch of a Rogers Internet phone services in the Toronto area last summer, Rogers Cable is ready to make a big push in that business in 2006.
Rogers has a goal of having 200,000 to 250,000 additions to its home phone product in 2006, he said.
"We had some initial technical bugs we had to work out and didn't have a big push in the latter half of '05 but now we're ready to go hard on that product," Gossling said.
The cable business is having good revenue growth, driven by new products, but needs to work on its profitability, he said.
"We do expect relatively flat margins in the cable business going forward, but I think there's some potential leverage there in terms of pricing increases and driving the penetration of some of our new products," Gossling said.
Rogers non-voting B shares traded at $45.25, down 25 cents, Tuesday afternoon on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Feb. 28, 2006. 01:45 PM
CANADIAN PRESS
Rogers Communications (TSX: RCI.NV.B) expects more moderate growth in its Internet and digital cable TV subscriber base this year but will be able to push through price increases, a senior executive said Tuesday.
"The good news, I think, on both is that there is actually some pricing power," Rogers vice-president finance John Gossling said in a webcast speech at an investor conference in Palm Beach, Fla.
"Unlike the competitive situation down here (in the U.S.), the prices on Internet and TV have been actually moving up quite nicely (for Rogers) in the last little while.
"We don't seem to have the competitive pressure to take these decent-margin products and move their prices down, so we're seeing good lift there," Gossling said.
Rogers Communications, which owns Canada's largest cable company as well as its largest wireless carrier and one of its biggest media businesses, announced several price increases when it released its fourth-quarter and 2005 financial results on Feb. 9.
Gossling said at the Bear, Stearns & Co. conference that, after a slow start with the launch of a Rogers Internet phone services in the Toronto area last summer, Rogers Cable is ready to make a big push in that business in 2006.
Rogers has a goal of having 200,000 to 250,000 additions to its home phone product in 2006, he said.
"We had some initial technical bugs we had to work out and didn't have a big push in the latter half of '05 but now we're ready to go hard on that product," Gossling said.
The cable business is having good revenue growth, driven by new products, but needs to work on its profitability, he said.
"We do expect relatively flat margins in the cable business going forward, but I think there's some potential leverage there in terms of pricing increases and driving the penetration of some of our new products," Gossling said.
Rogers non-voting B shares traded at $45.25, down 25 cents, Tuesday afternoon on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
