Le Lézard
Classified in: Science and technology, Business
Subject: ERN

TELUS reports operational and financial results for first quarter 2024


Total Mobile and Fixed customer growth of 209,000, up 46,000 over last year, and our strongest first quarter on record, driven by strong demand for our leading portfolio of Mobility and Fixed services

Robust Mobile Phone net additions of 45,000 and record first quarter Connected Device net additions of 101,000; industry-leading postpaid mobile phone churn of 0.91 per cent

Record first quarter Fixed customer net additions of 63,000, including 30,000 internet customer additions, driven by TELUS' PureFibre network and leading portfolio of bundled services across Mobile and Home

Industry-leading customer growth enabling Mobile Network Revenue and Fixed Data Services Revenue growth of 2.9 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively; TTech Adjusted EBITDA growth of 4.1 per cent and strong margin expansion of 160 basis points to 39.4 per cent reflecting cost savings from ongoing efficiency programs

Quarterly dividend raised to $0.3891, an increase of 7.0 per cent over the same period last year and our twenty-sixth increase since May 2011, representing a yield of approximately 7.0 per cent; Leading dividend growth program supported by Adjusted EBITDA growth outlook and strong annual free cash flow expansion

Reiterating our 2024 Financial Targets including TTech Operating Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA growth of 2 to 4 per cent and 5.5 to 7.5 per cent, respectively, Consolidated Capital Expenditures of approximately $2.6 billion and Free Cash Flow of approximately $2.3 billion

VANCOUVER, BC, May 9, 2024 /CNW/ - TELUS Corporation today released its unaudited results for the first quarter of 2024. Consolidated operating revenues and other income decreased by 0.6 per cent over the same period a year ago to $4.9 billion. This decline was driven by lower service revenues in our two reportable segments: TELUS technology solutions (TTech) and Digitally-led customer experiences ? TELUS International (DLCX). Within TTech, higher mobile network, residential internet and security revenues, largely driven by subscriber growth, as well as growth in managed, unmanaged and other fixed data services to new and existing business customers was offset by declines in TV and fixed legacy voice services revenues due to technological substitution. The decline in DLCX operating revenues resulted from lower external revenues in the DLCX segment across most of its industry verticals. See First Quarter 2024 Operating Highlights within this news release for a discussion on TTech and DLCX results.

"In the first quarter, our team once again delivered against our differentiated growth strategy, leveraging our superior asset portfolio, consistent execution track record and proactive cost efficiency initiatives to deliver industry-leading customer additions and solid financial results against the backdrop of a dynamic operating environment," said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO. "Our robust performance is underpinned by our strategic focus on margin accretive customer growth, globally leading broadband networks and customer-centric culture, which enabled our strongest first quarter on record, with total customer net additions of 209,000, up 28 per cent, year-over-year. This included strong mobile phone net additions of 45,000, and record first quarter customer additions for both connected devices of 101,000 and total fixed net additions of 63,000. TELUS' industry-leading growth reflects the consistent potency of our operational execution, and our unmatched bundled product offerings across Mobile and Home. Our team's passion for delivering customer service excellence contributed to continued leading loyalty across our key product lines. Notably, postpaid mobile phone churn was 0.91 per cent, as we begin the 11th consecutive year below the one per cent level."

"Within our global businesses, today, TELUS International (TI) also reported its first quarter results, delivering robust profitability and cash flows amidst what remains a challenging global macroeconomic operating environment, resulting in a difficult prior year comparable. Despite the near-term top line challenges, our TI team has executed against significant cost efficiency programs over the past ten months, positioning the business to achieve further EBITDA growth and incremental margin expansion, along with strong cash flow generation, as we move through the course of the year. We remain highly confident in TI's strategy and investment thesis, which is amplified by meaningful opportunities in respect of digital transformation ? particularly with generative AI adoption ? and the continuing critical importance of differentiated digital customer experience solutions in the market, creating a vibrant tailwind for TI's medium- and long-term growth and profitability. In TELUS Health, we achieved first quarter revenues of $420 million, alongside 28 per cent EBITDA contribution growth. This was supported by the achievement of $251 million in combined annualized synergies, towards our overall objective of $427 million by the end of 2025. Furthermore, we drove a seven per cent year-over-year increase in our global lives covered to nearly 72 million. We continue to make strong progress scaling TELUS Health and TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods, where we remain focused on accelerating the significant growth profile these differentiated global businesses represent by leveraging the expertise, experience, and high-performance culture and talent of our entire team, inclusive of leveraging significant cross-sell synergies across all lines of our business."

"The record customer growth we continue to report is underpinned by our dedicated team who are passionate about delivering superior service offerings and digital capabilities, over our world-leading wireless and PureFibre broadband networks. In addition to driving extensive socio-economic benefits for Canadians in communities from coast-to-coast, for decades to come, the significant broadband network investments we have made enable the continued advancement of our financial and operational performance, and the long-term sustainability of our industry-leading dividend growth program. Today, we are announcing a seven per cent dividend increase, reflecting our unwavering commitment to delivering superior value to our shareholders. Furthermore, it builds on our consistent track record of delivering on our multi-year dividend growth program established in 2011, and most recently extended through 2025, targeting annual growth in the range of seven to 10 per cent. Today's increase represents our 26th over the last 14 years and reflects our unwavering confidence in delivering leading operational and financial results on a sustained basis. Importantly, our strong outlook includes our expectations for continued free cash flow expansion in the years ahead, driven by ongoing strong EBITDA growth and moderating capital expenditure intensity, further supporting the long-term sustainability and quality of our dividend growth program." 

"Reflecting our team's long-standing belief in the synergistic relationship between doing well in business and doing good in our communities, May marks the official kick-off of our 19th annual TELUS Days of Giving," continued Darren. "This year, with the support of our extended TELUS family, I have every confidence that we will exceed our goal of inspiring 80,000 volunteers supporting positive outcomes in communities across the 32 countries in which we operate. It is thanks to this unparalleled level of caring and commitment that our team members and retirees, globally, have contributed 2.2 million days of giving since 2000 ? more than any other company on the planet."

Doug French, Executive Vice-president and CFO said, "In the first quarter of 2024, our team navigated a highly competitive environment across mobility and fixed to deliver healthy operational and financial results. Within our global businesses, investments in our channel and distribution strength is starting to pay dividends with good momentum on increased sales, however, in the short term, the challenging macroeconomic climate continues to elongate sales cycles, impacting top line growth. We expect to see this steadily improve over the coming quarters. Despite the revenue pressures however, we delivered robust consolidated Adjusted EBITDA growth of 4.3 per cent and strong consolidated margin expansion of 170 basis points year over year to 37.6 per cent. Furthermore, within our TTech segment, Adjusted EBITDA was higher by 4.1 per cent and margin of 39.4 per cent improved by 160 basis points over the same period a year ago. This strong performance reflects our unrelenting focus on efficiency and effectiveness to drive significant cost reductions on a permanent basis. As we move through the rest of the year, we remain focused on driving towards achieving our financial targets for 2024, which we reiterated today."

"During the first quarter, our team advanced our leadership position in sustainability, issuing our sixth sustainability-linked bond (SLB), linking our financing to the achievement of ambitious environmental targets," added Doug. "Furthermore, our latest SLB offering affirms TELUS as having the largest SLB program in the Canadian fixed income market and reinforces our sustainability commitments as a global leader in ESG. At the end of the quarter, our average cost of long-term debt was 4.37 per cent, our average term to maturity of long-term debt is nearly 11 years and our net debt to EBITDA ratio was 3.78 times. As we progress through 2024 and into future years, we anticipate our leverage ratio to improve as we work back towards our target ratio."

"Our leading growth profile, and robust balance sheet position, support our well-established dividend growth program. Our commitment to deliver on this program is underpinned by our confidence in executing our growth strategy and generating meaningful free cash flow on a sustained basis from our leading EBITDA growth profile and low capital intensity. This is balanced against other capital allocation priorities, including ongoing strategic investments along with maintaining a strong balance sheet to provide us ample flexibility to further support our growth ambitions and shareholder capital returns," concluded Doug.

As compared to the same period a year ago, net income in the quarter of $140 million was down 38 per cent and Basic earnings per share (EPS) of $0.09 decreased by 40 per cent. These decreases were driven by the impacts from: (i) higher depreciation and amortization from network leases and increased real estate rationalization; increases related to the addition of capital assets acquired in business acquisitions; growth in capital assets in support of the expansion of our broadband footprint, including our generational investment to connect homes and businesses to TELUS PureFibre and 5G technology coverage; successful internet, TV and security subscriber loading; and investments in our fibre-optic technology to support our technology strategy to improve network coverage and capacity, including the ongoing build-out of our 5G network; (ii) higher financing costs reflecting an increase in average long-term debt balances outstanding, attributable in part to business acquisitions, an increase in the effective interest rate and an increase in unrealized changes in virtual power purchase agreements forward element which represent the estimated unrealized amounts recorded from our virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) with renewable energy projects as of March 31, 2024; and (iii) higher restructuring and other costs, primarily related to cost efficiency and effectiveness programs, including workforce reductions, real estate rationalization, and personnel-related restructuring and other costs that were recorded in the prior year. As it relates to EPS, the trends also reflect the effect of a higher number of Common shares outstanding. When excluding certain costs and other adjustments (see 'Reconciliation of adjusted Net income' in this news release), adjusted net income of $390 million increased by 1.0 per cent over the same period last year, while adjusted basic EPS of $0.26 was down 3.7 per cent over the same period last year. Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP financial measure and adjusted basic EPS is a non-GAAP ratio. For further explanation of these measures, see 'Non-GAAP and other specified financial measures' in this news release.

Compared to the same period last year, consolidated EBITDA increased by 1.1 per cent to more than $1.6 billion and Adjusted EBITDA increased by 4.3 per cent to approximately $1.9 billion. The growth in Adjusted EBITDA reflects: (i) broad-based cost reduction efforts across both the TTech and DLCX segments, including workforce reductions, synergies achieved between LifeWorks® and our legacy Health business, and an increase in TTech outsourcing to DLCX resulting in competitive benefits given the lower cost structure in DLCX, as well as savings in marketing, discretionary and administrative costs; (ii) higher mobile network, residential internet and security revenues, largely driven by subscriber growth; (iii) higher net gains in other income; and (iv) growth in managed, unmanaged and other fixed data services to new and existing business customers. These factors were partly offset by: (i) lower mobile phone ARPU; (ii) merit-based compensation increases; (iii) labour cost imbalances arising from reductions in service volume demand in the DLCX segment; (iv) declining TV and fixed legacy voice margins; (v) lower mobile equipment margins; (vi) lower health and agriculture and consumer goods revenues from increased client churn; (vii) higher costs related to the scaling of our digital capabilities, inclusive of increased subscription-based licences, and cloud usage costs; and (viii) higher bad debt expense.

In the first quarter, we added 209,000 net customer additions, up 46,000 over the same period last year, and inclusive of 45,000 mobile phones and 101,000 connected devices, in addition to 30,000 internet, 19,000 TV and 22,000 security customer connections. This was partly offset by residential voice losses of 8,000. Our total TTech subscriber base of approximately 19.2 million is up 6.8 per cent over the last twelve months, reflecting a 4.7 per cent increase in our mobile phones subscriber base to over 9.8 million, and a 23 per cent increase in our connected devices subscriber base to more than 3.2 million. Additionally, our internet connections grew by 5.5 per cent over the last twelve months to approximately 2.7 million customer connections, our TV customer base stands at 1.3 customers, and our security subscriber base increased by 7.8 per cent to approximately 1.1 million customers. Lastly, our residential voice subscriber base declined slightly by 2.8 per cent to approximately 1.1 million.

In health services, as of the end of the first quarter of 2024, virtual care members were 5.9 million and healthcare lives covered were 71.7 million, up 14 per cent and 7.0 per cent over the past twelve months, respectively. Digital health transactions in the first quarter of 2024 were 159.0 million, up 6.8 per cent over the first quarter of 2023.

Cash provided by operating activities of $950 million increased by $189 million in the first quarter of 2024 and free cash flow of $396 million decreased by $139 million compared to the same period a year ago. Consistent with our internal plan, the decrease in free cash flow was driven by increased restructuring and other costs disbursements, net of expense and increased interest paid, partly offset by lower income taxes paid. Our definition of free cash flow, for which there is no industry alignment, is unaffected by accounting standards that do not impact cash.

Consolidated capital expenditures of $725 million, including $14 million for real estate development, increased by 1.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2024. TTech real estate development capital expenditures increased by $9 million in the first quarter of 2024 due to an increase in capital investment to support construction of multi-year development projects, including TELUS OceanTM and other commercial buildings in British Columbia. DLCX capital expenditures increased by $6 million in the first quarter of 2024, primarily driven by expansion in our Asia-Pacific and Central America and others regions (notably Africa), and software investments in our managed digital solutions business. As at March 31, 2024, our 5G network covered approximately 31.8 million Canadians, representing approximately 86 per cent of the population, and more than 3.2 million households and businesses in B.C., Alberta and Eastern Quebec were connected to fibre-optic cable, which provides these premises with immediate access to our fibre-optic technology.

Consolidated Financial Highlights 

C$ millions, except footnotes and unless noted otherwise

Three months ended
March 31

Per cent

(unaudited)

2024

2023

change

Operating revenues (arising from contracts with customers)

4,866

4,925

(1.2)

Operating revenues and other income

4,932

4,964

(0.6)

Total operating expenses

4,357

4,365

(0.2)

Net income

140

224

(37.5)

Net income attributable to common shares

127

217

(41.5)

Adjusted Net income(1)

390

386

1.0

Basic EPS ($)

0.09

0.15

(40.0)

Adjusted basic EPS(1) ($)

0.26

0.27

(3.7)

EBITDA(1)

1,638

1,621

1.1

Adjusted EBITDA(1)

1,856

1,779

4.3

Capital expenditures(2)

725

713

1.7

Cash provided by operating activities

950

761

24.8

Free cash flow(1)

396

535

(26.0)

Total telecom subscriber connections(3) (thousands)

19,168

17,953

6.8

Healthcare lives covered(4 (millions)

71.7

67.0

7.0


Notations used in the table above: n/m ? not meaningful.



(1)

These are non-GAAP and other specified financial measures, which do not have standardized meanings under IFRS-IASB and might not be comparable to those used by other issuers. For further definitions and explanations of these measures, see 'Non-GAAP and other specified financial measures' in this news release.

(2)

Capital expenditures include assets purchased, excluding right-of-use lease assets, but not yet paid for, and consequently differ from Cash payments for capital assets, excluding spectrum licences, as reported in the interim consolidated financial statements. Refer to Note 31 of the interim consolidated financial statements for further information.

(3)

The sum of active mobile phone subscribers, connected device subscribers, internet subscribers, residential voice subscribers, TV subscribers and security subscribers, measured at the end of the respective periods based on information in billing and other source systems. Effective for the first quarter of 2024, with retrospective application to January 1, 2023, we reduced our mobile phone subscriber base by 283,000 subscribers to remove a subset of our public services customers that are now subject to dynamic pricing auction models. We believe adjusting our base for these low-margin customers provides a more meaningful reflection of the underlying performance of our mobile phone business and our focus on profitable growth. As a result of this change, associated operating statistics (ARPU and churn) have also been adjusted. Effective January 1, 2024, on a prospective basis, we adjusted our TV subscriber base to remove 97,000 subscribers as we have ceased marketing our Pik TV® product.

First Quarter 2024 Operating Highlights

TELUS technology solutions (TTech)

Mobile products and services

Fixed products and services

Health services

Agriculture and consumer goods services

Digitally-led customer experiences ? TELUS International (DLCX)

Corporate Highlights 
TELUS makes significant contributions and investments in the communities where team members live, work and serve and to the Canadian economy on behalf of customers, shareholders and team members. These include:

Dividend Declaration 
The TELUS Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3891 per share on the issued and outstanding Common Shares of the Company payable on July 2, 2024 to holders of record at the close of business on June 10, 2024. This quarterly dividend reflects an increase of 7.0 per cent from the $0.3636 per share dividend declared one year earlier and consistent with our multi-year dividend growth program. When a dividend payment date falls on a weekend or holiday, the payment shall be made on the next succeeding day that is a business day.

Community Highlights
Giving Back to Our Communities

Empowering Canadians with Connectivity

Investing in Social Impact

Global Social Capitalism awards and recognition

Access to Quarterly results information
Interested investors, the media and others may review this quarterly earnings news release, management's discussion and analysis, quarterly results slides, audio and transcript of the investor webcast call, supplementary financial information at telus.com/investors.

TELUS' first quarter 2024 conference call is scheduled for Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 1:30 pm ET (10:30 am PT) and will feature a presentation followed by a question and answer period with investment analysts. Interested parties can access the webcast at telus.com/investors. An audio recording will be available approximately 60 minutes after the call until June 9, 2024 at 1-855-201-2300. Please quote conference access code 13252# and playback access code 0114441#. An archive of the webcast will also be available at telus.com/investors and a transcript will be posted on the website within a few business days.

Caution regarding forward-looking statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements about expected events and the financial and operating performance of TELUS Corporation. The terms TELUS, the Company, we, us and our refer to TELUS Corporation and, where the context of the narrative permits or requires, its subsidiaries.

Forward-looking statements include any statements that do not refer to historical facts. They include, but are not limited to, statements relating to our objectives and our strategies to achieve those objectives, our expectations regarding trends in the telecommunications industry (including demand for data and ongoing subscriber base growth), and our financing plans (including our multi-year dividend growth program). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the words assumption, goal, guidance, objective, outlook, strategy, target and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as aim, anticipate, believe, could, expect, intend, may, plan, predict, seek, should, strive and will. These statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of applicable securities laws in Canada and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on assumptions, including assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action. These assumptions may ultimately prove to have been inaccurate and, as a result, our actual results or other events may differ materially from expectations expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements.

The assumptions for our 2024 outlook, as described in Section 9 in our 2023 annual MD&A, remain the same, except for the following:

The extent to which the economic growth estimates affect us and the timing of their impact will depend upon the actual experience of specific sectors of the Canadian economy.

Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or other events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements made herein and in other TELUS filings include, but are not limited to, the following:

Risks and uncertainties include:

Risks and uncertainties include:

Risks and uncertainties include:

Risks and uncertainties include:

Our goals to achieve carbon neutrality and reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our operations are subject to our ability to identify, procure and implement solutions to reduce energy consumption and adopt cleaner sources of energy, our ability to identify and make suitable investments in renewable energy, including in the form of virtual power purchase agreements, and our ability to continue to realize significant absolute reductions in energy use and the resulting GHG emissions in our operations.

Risks and uncertainties include:

Risks and uncertainties include:

Risks and uncertainties include:

Risks and uncertainties include:

Our capital expenditure levels and potential outlays for spectrum licences in auctions or purchases from third parties affect and are affected by: our broadband initiatives, including connecting more homes and businesses directly to fibre; our ongoing deployment of newer mobile technologies, including wireless small cells that can improve coverage and capacity; investments in network technology required to comply with laws and regulations relating to the security of cyber systems, including bans on the products and services of certain vendors; investments in network resiliency and reliability; the allocation of resources to acquisitions and future spectrum auctions held by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), including the millimetre wave spectrum auction, which may commence after 2024. Our capital expenditure levels could be impacted if we do not achieve our targeted operational and financial results or if there are changes to our regulatory environment.

Lower than planned free cash flow could constrain our ability to invest in operations, reduce leverage or return capital to shareholders. This program may be affected by factors such as the competitive environment, fluctuations in the Canadian economy or the global economy, our earnings and free cash flow (which may be affected by restructuring and other costs resulting from initiatives such as post-acquisition integration and cost efficiency programs), our levels of capital expenditures and spectrum licence purchases, acquisitions, the management of our capital structure, regulatory decisions and developments, and business continuity events. Quarterly dividend decisions are subject to assessment and determination by our Board of Directors based on our financial position and outlook. There can be no assurance that our dividend growth program will be maintained through 2025 or renewed.

Factors that may affect TI's financial performance are described in TI's public filings available on SEDAR+ and EDGAR. TI may choose to publicize targets or provide other guidance regarding its business and it may not achieve such targets. Failure to meet these targets could affect TELUS' ability to achieve targets for the organization as a whole and could result in a decline in the trading price of the TI subordinate voting shares or the TELUS Common Shares or both.

Risks and uncertainties include:

Risks and uncertainties include:

Risks and uncertainties include:

These risks and assumptions underlying our forward-looking statements are described in additional detail in Section 9 General trends, outlook and assumptions, and regulatory developments and proceedings and Section 10 Risks and risk management in our 2023 annual MD&A. Those descriptions are incorporated by reference in this cautionary statement but are not intended to be a complete list of the risks that could affect the Company or of our assumptions.

Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond our control or outside of our current expectations or knowledge. Additional risks and uncertainties that are not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also have a material adverse effect on our financial position, financial performance, cash flows, business or reputation. Except as otherwise indicated in this document, the forward-looking statements made herein do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring or special items or any mergers, acquisitions, dispositions or other business combinations or transactions that may be announced or that may occur after the date of this document.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this document describe our expectations, and are based on our assumptions, as at the date of this document and are subject to change after this date. Except as required by law, we disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

This cautionary statement qualifies all of the forward-looking statements in this document.

Non-GAAP and other specified financial measures

We have issued guidance on and report certain non-GAAP measures that are used to evaluate the performance of TELUS, as well as to determine compliance with debt covenants and to manage our capital structure. As non-GAAP measures generally do not have a standardized meaning, they may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. For certain financial metrics, there are definitional differences between TELUS and TELUS International reporting. These differences largely arise from TELUS International adopting definitions consistent with practice in its industry. Securities regulations require such measures to be clearly defined, qualified and reconciled with their nearest GAAP measure. Certain of the metrics do not have generally accepted industry definitions.

Adjusted Net income and adjusted basic earnings per share (EPS): These are non-GAAP measures that do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS-IASB and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Adjusted Net income excludes the effects of restructuring and other costs, income tax-related adjustments, other equity (income) losses related to real estate joint ventures, long-term debt prepayment premium, unrealized changes in virtual power purchase agreements forward element, and other adjustments (identified in the following tables). Adjusted basic EPS is calculated as adjusted Net income divided by the basic weighted-average number of Common Shares outstanding. These measures are used to evaluate performance at a consolidated level and exclude items that, in management's view, may obscure underlying trends in business performance or items of an unusual nature that do not reflect our ongoing operations. They should not be considered alternatives to Net income and basic EPS in measuring TELUS' performance.

Reconciliation of adjusted Net income


Three months ended
March 31

C$ and in millions

2024

2023

Net income attributable to Common Shares

127

217

Add (deduct) amounts of net of amount attributable to non-controlling interests:



Restructuring and other costs

213

149

Tax effect of restructuring and other costs

(48)

(32)

Real estate rationalization-related restructuring impairments

68

52

Tax effect of real estate rationalization-related restructuring impairments

(18)

(14)

Income tax-related adjustments

?

1

Other equity income related to real estate joint ventures

?

(1)

Unrealized changes in virtual power purchase agreements forward element

66

19

Tax effect of unrealized changes in virtual power purchase agreements
forward element

(18)

(5)

Adjusted Net income

390

386

 

Reconciliation of adjusted basic EPS


Three months ended
March 31

C$

2024

2023

Basic EPS

0.09

0.15

Add (deduct) amounts of net of amount attributable to non-controlling interests:



Restructuring and other costs, per share

0.14

0.10

Tax effect of restructuring and other costs, per share

(0.03)

(0.02)

Real estate rationalization-related restructuring impairments, per share

0.04

0.04

Tax effect of real estate rationalization-related restructuring impairments, per
share

(0.01)

(0.01)

Unrealized changes in virtual power purchase agreements forward element,
per share

0.04

0.01

Tax effect of unrealized changes in virtual power purchase agreements
forward element, per share

(0.01)

?

Adjusted basic EPS

0.26

0.27

EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization): We have issued guidance on and report EBITDA because it is a key measure used to evaluate performance at a consolidated level. EBITDA is commonly reported and widely used by investors and lending institutions as an indicator of a company's operating performance and ability to incur and service debt, and as a valuation metric. EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to Net income in measuring TELUS' performance, nor should it be used as a measure of cash flow. EBITDA as calculated by TELUS is equivalent to Operating revenues and other income less the total of Goods and services purchased expense and Employee benefits expense.

We also calculate Adjusted EBITDA to exclude items of an unusual nature that do not reflect our ongoing operations and should not, in our opinion, be considered in a long-term valuation metric or should not be included in an assessment of our ability to service or incur debt.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA reconciliations


TTech

DLCX

Eliminations3

Total

Three-month periods ended
March 31 (C$ millions)

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

Net income







140

224

Financing costs







394

320

Income taxes







41

55

EBIT

494

536

91

63

(10)

?

575

599

Depreciation

644

597

46

43

?


690

640

Amortization of intangible
   assets

313

320

60

62

?

?

373

382

EBITDA1,2

1,451

1,453

197

168

(10)

?

1,638

1,621

Add restructuring and other
   costs included in EBITDA

208

141

10

18

?

?

218

159

EBITDA ? excluding
   restructuring and other
   costs

1,659

1,594

207

186

(10)

?

1,856

1,780

Other equity income related to
   real estate joint ventures

?

(1)

?

?

?

?

?

(1)

Adjusted EBITDA1,2

1,659

1,593

207

186

(10)

?

1,856

1,779

Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures is calculated for our reportable segments, as it represents a simple cash flow view that may be more comparable to other issuers.

Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures reconciliations


TTech

DLCX

Eliminations3

Total

Three-months ended

March 31 (C$ millions)

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

2024

2023

Adjusted EBITDA1,2

1,659

1,593

207

186

(10)

?

1,856

1,779

Capital expenditures

(707)

(693)

(26)

(20)

8

?

(725)

(713)

Adjusted EBITDA less
capital expenditures1

952

900

181

166

(2)

?

1,131

1,066

(1)

See Section 11.1 Non-GAAP and other specified financial measures in our first quarter 2024 MD&A for additional details.

(2)

For certain financial metrics, there are definitional differences between TELUS and TELUS International reporting. These differences largely arise from TELUS International adopting definitions consistent with practice in its industry.

(3)

See Intersegment revenues in Section 5.5 of our first quarter 2024 MD&A for additional details.

Free cash flow: We report this measure as a supplementary indicator of our operating performance, and there is no generally accepted industry definition of free cash flow. It should not be considered as an alternative to the measures in the condensed interim consolidated statements of cash flows. Free cash flow excludes certain working capital changes (such as trade receivables and trade payables), proceeds from divested assets and other sources and uses of cash, as found in the condensed interim consolidated statements of cash flows. It provides an indication of how much cash generated by operations is available after capital expenditures that may be used to, among other things, pay dividends, repay debt, purchase shares or make other investments. We exclude impacts of accounting standards that do not impact cash, such as IFRS 15 and IFRS 16. Free cash flow may be supplemented from time to time by proceeds from divested assets or financing activities.

Free cash flow calculation




Three months ended

March 31

C$ and in millions

2024

2023

EBITDA

1,638

1,621

Restructuring and other costs, net of disbursements

(11)

85

Effects of contract asset, acquisition and fulfilment (IFRS 15 impact) and
TELUS Easy Payment device financing

34

32

Effects of lease principal (IFRS 16 impact)

(178)

(130)

Items from the condensed interim statements of cash flows:



Share-based compensation, net

27

43

Net employee defined benefit plans expense

17

15

Employer contributions to employee defined benefit plans

(8)

(9)

Loss from equity accounted investments and other

5

?

Interest paid

(334)

(286)

Interest received

11

4

Capital expenditures1

(725)

(713)

Free cash flow before income taxes

476

662

Income taxes paid, net of refunds

(80)

(127)

Free cash flow

396

535

 

Free cash flow reconciliation with Cash provided by operating activities




Three months ended

March 31

C$ and in millions

2024

2023

Free cash flow

396

535

Add (deduct):



Capital expenditures1

725

713

Effect of lease principal

178

130

Net change in non-cash operating working capital not included in receding
line items and other individually immaterial items included in Net income
neither providing nor using cash

(349)

(617)

Cash provided by operating activities

950

761

(1)

Refer to Note 31 of the interim consolidated financial statements for further information.

Mobile phone average revenue per subscriber per month (ARPU) is calculated as network revenue derived from monthly service plan, roaming and usage charges; divided by the average number of mobile phone subscribers on the network during the period, and is expressed as a rate per month.

Appendix

Operating revenues and other income ? TTech segment

C$ millions, except footnotes and unless noted otherwise

Three months ended
March 31

Per cent

(unaudited)

2024

2023

change

Mobile network revenue

1,746

1,697

2.9

Mobile equipment and other service revenues

481

517

(7.0)

Fixed data services(1)

1,159

1,128

2.7

Fixed voice services

179

192

(6.8)

Fixed equipment and other service revenues

117

128

(8.6)

Health services

420

423

(0.7)

Agriculture and consumer goods services

82

84

(2.4)

Operating revenues (arising from contracts with customers)

4,184

4,169

0.4

Other income

27

39

(30.8)

External Operating revenues and other income

4,211

4,208

0.1

Intersegment revenues

3

4

(25.0)

TTech Operating revenues and other income

4,214

4,212

0.0

(1)

Excludes health services and agriculture and consumer goods services.

Operating revenues and other income ? DLCX segment

C$ millions, except footnotes and unless noted otherwise

Three months ended
March 31

Per cent

(unaudited)

2024

2023

change

Operating revenues (arising from contracts with customers)

682

756

(9.8)

Other income

39

?

n/m

External Operating revenues and other income

721

756

(4.6)

Intersegment revenues

203

172

18.0

DLCX Operating revenues and other income

924

928

(0.4)

    Notations used in the table above: n/m ? not meaningful.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a dynamic, world-leading communications technology company with more than $20 billion in annual revenue and over 19 million customer connections spanning wireless, data, IP, voice, television, entertainment, video, and security. Our social purpose is to leverage our global-leading technology and compassion to drive social change and enable remarkable human outcomes. Our longstanding commitment to putting our customers first fuels every aspect of our business, making us a distinct leader in customer service excellence and loyalty. The numerous, sustained accolades TELUS has earned over the years from independent, industry-leading network insight firms showcase the strength and speed of TELUS' global-leading networks, reinforcing our commitment to provide Canadians with access to superior technology that connects us to the people, resources and information that make our lives better.

Operating in 32 countries around the world, TELUS International (TSX and NYSE: TIXT) is a leading digital customer experience innovator that designs, builds, and delivers next-generation solutions, including AI and content moderation, for global and disruptive brands across strategic industry verticals, including tech and games, communications and media, eCommerce and fintech, banking, financial services and insurance, healthcare, and others.

TELUS Health is a global healthcare leader, which provides employee and family primary and preventive healthcare and wellbeing solutions. Our TELUS team, along with our 100,000 health professionals, are leveraging the combination of TELUS' strong digital and data analytics capabilities with our unsurpassed client service to dramatically improve remedial, preventive and mental health outcomes covering nearly 72 million lives, and growing, around the world. As the largest provider of digital solutions and digital insights of its kind, TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods enables efficient and sustainable production from seed to store, helping improve the safety and quality of food and other goods in a way that is traceable to end consumers.

Driven by our determination and vision to connect all citizens for good, our deeply meaningful and enduring philosophy to give where we live has inspired TELUS and our team to contribute $1.7 billion, including 2.2 million days of service since 2000. This unprecedented generosity and unparalleled volunteerism have made TELUS the most giving company in the world. Together, let's make the future friendly.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com, follow us at @TELUSNews on X and @Darren_Entwistle on Instagram.

Investor Relations
Robert Mitchell
(647) 837-1606
[email protected]

Media Relations
Steve Beisswanger
(514) 865-2787
[email protected]

SOURCE TELUS Corporation


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