Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI) on Tuesday reported a sharp rise in first-quarter profit and higher revenue as it boasted a surprisingly large jump in new wireless customers.

By BNN.ca

Rogers, Canada's largest cable, telecommunications and media company by market share, reported that:

• It added 60,000 net postpaid wireless subscribers in the quarter, much more than the 34,000 additions that analysts at RBC Capital Markets had expected saying 
• its average wireless customer paid $59.96 a month for service, up from $58.54 a year ago.
• Its revenue rose 3% to $3.34 billion as wireless growth offset a fall in its media division and a flat performance from its cable unit
  • adding 30,000 landline internet
  • adding 2,000 landline phone accounts, but
  • losing 24,000 television subscribers.
• It kept its dividend payout steady at 48 cents.
• its net income was $294 million, or 57 cents per share, for the three months to March 31, up from $230 million, or 44 cents per share, a year earlier.
• On an adjusted basis, the company earned 64 cents a share. Analysts had, on average, expected Rogers to earn 57 cents a share on revenue of $3.365 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

 RBC analyst Drew McReynolds wrote in a note, referring to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization:

"We believe strong Q1/17 results should meet what are rising expectations driven by better-than-expected wireless postpaid and Internet subscriber growth and renewed wireless EBITDA growth.