• All non-revenue and revised revenue guidance targets for 2024 achieved
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ growth of 1.5% in Q4 delivered 0.9 percentage-point increase in adjusted EBITDA margin² to 40.6% – highest Q4 margin in more than three decades
• Q4 net earnings of $505 million, up 16.1%, with net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $461 million, up 20.7% or $0.51 per common share; 4.1% increase in adjusted net earnings¹ of $719 million drove adjusted EPS¹ of $0.79, up 3.9%
• Cash flows from operating activities down 20.9% in Q4 to $1,877 million; free cash flow¹ decreased to $874 million on higher interest paid and timing of working capital, including impact of Canada Post strike, and cash tax installments
• 151,413 total mobile phone and connected device net subscriber activations³ in Q4
• 34,187 total retail Internet net subscriber activations³ in Q4 contributed to 3.4% Internet revenue growth
• Third consecutive quarter of Bell Media revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth, up 1.2% and 14.2% respectively; digital revenues⁴ increased 6% as digital platforms and advertising technology continue to drive growth
• BCE annualized common share dividend maintained at $3.99⁵; approximately 34% participation rate for BCE's discounted treasury dividend reinvestment plan with Q4 dividend payment on January 15, 2025 generated cash savings of $308 million

MONTRÉAL, Feb. 6, 2025 /CNW/ - BCE Inc. (TSX: BCE) (NYSE: BCE) today reported results for the fourth quarter (Q4) and full-year 2024 and provided financial guidance for 2025.

"Bell's financial results for Q4 and throughout 2024 demonstrate steady execution as we balanced growth with profitability, while transforming our business and reducing costs," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada.

"Through our disciplined approach, we achieved all of our non-revenue targets for 2024 and were also within our revised revenue guidance objective. We also achieved our highest annual adjusted EBITDA margin in over 30 years at 43.4%.

We delivered positive wireless service revenue growth in 2024 despite the intensely competitive market. All new postpaid customer net activations were on the main Bell brand. We're continuing to see a clear preference for fibre with total Internet revenue up 3.3% year-over-year, and we now have three million residential Internet customers on our FTTH network, up 10% in 2024. Digital now comprises 42% of total media revenue, compared to 35% in 2023, with digital revenue up 19% over last year. We're also gaining momentum in our objective to become a tech services leader with strong business solutions revenue growth of 18%⁶.

In 2025, BCE is implementing a strategic roadmap that aims to generate revenue growth, while managing costs and capital allocation priorities. Our focus is centered around four key pillars: putting the customer first; continuing to deliver the best pure fibre Internet and 5G wireless networks and services; growing our business technology services for our enterprise customers; and continued momentum in digital media and offering the most compelling content. We will focus on these four key competitive advantages while continuing to transform our business by leveraging technology, AI and automation to modernize our operations and realize operational cost efficiencies.

Our purpose is to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world. In 2025, we intend to continue delivering on our purpose for our customers, while delivering value for our shareholders."

KEY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS

Innovative partnerships delivering new solutions to customers

• Bell has partnered with Palo Alto Networks (opens in new window)  to offer their suite of AI-powered cybersecurity services in Canada. This partnership brings together Bell's expertise in Managed and Professional Services with Palo Alto Networks' AI-powered cybersecurity platforms for Bell's enterprise customers.
• Bell expanded its existing collaboration with Microsoft (opens in new window)  to offer Teams Phone Mobile services to Bell business customers. The mobile-first solution integrates mobile numbers with Teams, simplifying business communication and collaboration.
• In partnership with Nokia, Bell has completed Canada's first 50G passive optical network (PON) technology trial, leveraging existing fibre infrastructure to deliver faster Internet speeds.

Championing the Customer Experience

• According to the 2023-2024 Annual Report (opens in new window)  by the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS), the share of complaints for the full group of Bell companies decreased by 5% year-over-year⁷.

Delivering the most compelling content

• Bell Media has launched (opens in new window)  new bundle options allowing viewers to combine Crave, TSN (English-language bundle), and RDS (French-language bundle), with the Ultimate Entertainment and Sports Bundle (opens in new window)  plans.
• Bell and Corus Entertainment have expanded their multi-year agreement (opens in new window)  to distribute Corus networks on Bell Fibe TV and Bell Satellite TV, including Corus' premier lifestyle networks, Flavour Network and Home Network.
• Bell Media announced a partnership with Lionsgate and Point Grey Pictures (PGP) (opens in new window) , the production company founded by actor Seth Rogan and filmmaker Evan Goldberg, to develop and produce PGP's first Canadian scripted television series. Bell Media also announced a new partnership with PAGEBOY Productions (opens in new window) , founded by actor, producer and advocate Elliot Page to develop original scripted series for Crave and CTV.
• Bell Media will be the exclusive broadcaster in Canada of all three NASCAR national series (opens in new window) : NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series.
• Bell Media has partnered with Shopsense AI (opens in new window)  to bring second-screen shopping experiences to Canadian viewers, marking Shopsense's first expansion outside the U.S. and the first integration of its Commerce OS into Canadian entertainment programming.
• Bell Media and StackAdapt, a multi-channel advertising platform, have partnered to make Bell Media's inventory of connected TV, display, video, audio, and digital out-of-home channels available on the StackAdapt platform (opens in new window) . This partnership enables advertisers to scale campaigns effectively across Bell Media's digital offerings, including live sports.

Bell Let's Talk Day

• Bell Let's Talk launched its 15th annual day for mental health on January 22 (opens in new window) , 2025, supporting Canada's youth mental health crisis. Canadians were invited to participate in a national text-to-donate campaign (opens in new window) . Together with Canadians on Bell Let's Talk Day (opens in new window) , we contributed a total of $1,605,770 to six youth mental health organizations.

Bell for Better

• Bell was ranked the most sustainable telecommunications company in the world, and 34^th overall in Corporate Knights' Global 100 (opens in new window)  most sustainable corporations for 2025⁸.
• Bell has been recognized by Mediacorp as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers (opens in new window)  for 2025 for the 10th consecutive year⁹, and has also been named one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People (opens in new window)  in 2025 for the eighth consecutive year¹⁰.
• Bell has partnered with Taku River Tlingit First Nation Government, the Governments of Canada and British Columbia, Northwestel, and Planetworks Consulting to bring 5G and 4G LTE wireless networks to Atlin, BC (opens in new window) . The new service, live since December 14, 2024, aims to enhance the health and safety of Atlin residents and visitors.

BCE RESULTS

Financial Highlights

"BCE's Q4 results reflect our continued focus on competing in a hyper-competitive communications market, while progressing on our transformation and driving costs out of the business," said Curtis Millen, Chief Financial Officer of BCE and Bell Canada.

"The Bell team demonstrated discipline in managing operating costs with EBITDA growth in both our CTS and Bell Media segments. We reduced our capital expenditures by $66 million in Q4, bringing total capex savings to $684 million in 2024. We have good financial flexibility with access to $4.5 billion of liquidity and a pension solvency surplus totalling $3.7 billion as at December 31, 2024.

As we look ahead, our 2025 financial guidance reflects an uncertain macroeconomic and regulatory environment. Despite ongoing competitive pricing pressures, we believe that the superiority of fibre over cable, our 5G wireless services, enterprise solutions business and digital subscriptions and advertising present opportunities for growth. Overall, we remain confident in our ability to execute under any circumstances and to deliver value for our shareholders."

• BCE operating revenues were $6,422 million in Q4, down 0.8% compared to Q4 2023. This result reflected 1.1% lower service revenue of $5,287 million, attributable to a year-over-year decline in our Bell Communication and Technology Services (Bell CTS) segment partly offset by growth in our Bell Media segment, and a 0.9% increase in product revenue to $1,135 million. For full-year 2024, BCE operating revenue was down 1.1% to $24,409 million, reflecting year-over-year decreases of 0.4% in service revenue and 5.2% in product revenue.
• Net earnings in Q4 increased 16.1% to $505 million and net earnings attributable to common shareholders totalled $461 million, or $0.51 per share, up 20.7% and 21.4% respectively. The year-over-year increases were due to lower asset impairment charges, as we recorded a $109 million charge in Q4 2023 mainly related to Bell Media's French-language TV properties and broadcast licenses, lower other expense due mainly to a non-cash loss recorded in Q4 2023 on BCE's share of an obligation to repurchase at fair value the minority interest in one of its joint venture equity investments, as well as mark-to-market gains on foreign exchange hedges and options from the decline of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar in Q4, higher adjusted EBITDA and lower income taxes. These factors were partly offset by higher severance, acquisition and other costs related primarily to 2024 workforce reduction initiatives, higher interest expense, and net mark-to-market losses on derivatives used to economically hedge equity settled share-based compensation due to a decrease in BCE's common share price in Q4. For full-year 2024, net earnings decreased 83.9% to $375 million and net earnings attributable to common shareholders were $163 million, or $0.18 per share, both down 92.1%, reflecting non-cash asset impairment charges totalling $2,190 million, mainly related to Bell Media's TV and radio properties to reflect a further decline in demand and spending in the traditional advertising market.
• Adjusted net earnings were up 4.1% in Q4 to $719 million, delivering a 3.9% increase in adjusted EPS to $0.79. For full-year 2024, adjusted net earnings were down 5.2% to $2,773 million, resulting in a 5.3% decrease in adjusted EPS to $3.04.
• Adjusted EBITDA was up 1.5% in Q4 to $2,605 million, reflecting increases of 14.2% at Bell Media and 0.7% at Bell CTS. BCE's adjusted EBITDA margin increased 0.9 percentage points to 40.6% from 39.7% in Q4 2023. This result was driven by a 2.3% reduction in operating costs reflecting decreased labour costs attributable to workforce reduction initiatives undertaken over the past year and permanent closures of The Source stores as part of our strategic distribution partnership with Best Buy Canada, as well as technology and automation-enabled operating efficiencies across the organization. For full-year 2024, adjusted EBITDA grew 1.7% to $10,589 million, while BCE's adjusted EBITDA margin increased 1.2 percentage points to 43.4% from 42.2% in 2023, representing our highest annual margin result in more than 30 years.
• BCE capital expenditures in Q4 were $963 million, down 6.4% from $1,029 million in Q4 last year, corresponding to a capital intensity¹¹ of 15.0%, compared to 15.9% in Q4 2023. This brought total 2024 capital expenditures to $3,897 million, down from $4,581 million the year before, for a capital intensity of 16.0% compared to 18.6% in 2023. The year-over-year decreases are consistent with a planned reduction in capital spending attributable to slower new pure fibre footprint expansion and reflects efficiencies realized from prior investments in digital transformation initiatives.
• BCE cash flows from operating activities in Q4 were $1,877 million, down 20.9% from Q4 2023, reflecting lower cash from working capital, higher interest paid, and increased cash taxes due mainly to the timing of instalment payments, partly offset by higher adjusted EBITDA. For full-year 2024, BCE cash flows from operating activities totalled $6,988 million, down 12.1% from 2023.
• Free cash flow was $874 million, down 32.2% from $1,289 million in Q4 2023, due to decreased cash flows from operating activities excluding acquisition and other costs paid, partly offset by lower capital expenditures. For full-year 2024, BCE free cash flow decreased 8.1% to $2,888 million, down from $3,144 million in 2023.

OPERATING RESULTS BY SEGMENT

Bell Communication and Technology Services¹² (Bell CTS)

• Total Bell CTS operating revenues decreased 1.1% in Q4 to $5,681 million compared to Q4 2023, due to lower service revenue, partly offset by higher product revenue. For full-year 2024, Bell CTS operating revenues were down 1.4% to $21,619 million, due to both lower service and product revenue.
• Service revenue was down 1.6% in Q4 to $4,546 million, reflecting ongoing declines in legacy voice, data and satellite TV services, greater acquisition, retention and bundle discounts on residential services compared to Q4 2023, and lower mobile phone blended average revenue per user (ARPU)^12,13,14,15. These factors were partly offset by expansion of our mobile phone, mobile connected device and retail Internet and IPTV subscriber bases, increased sales of business service solutions to large enterprise customers, as well as the financial contribution from acquisitions made over the past year including Stratejm, CloudKettle and HGC Technologies to strengthen Bell Business Markets' managed cybersecurity and digital workflow automation capabilities. For full-year 2024, service revenue decreased 0.7% to $18,283 million.
• Product revenue was up 0.9% in Q4 to $1,135 million, mainly reflecting higher land mobile radio systems sales to large enterprise customers in the government sector and a greater sales mix of higher-value mobile phones, largely offset by a reduction in consumer electronics revenue from The Source attributable to permanent store closures and conversions to Best Buy Express as part of our strategic distribution partnership with Best Buy Canada. For full-year 2024, product revenue decreased 5.2% to $3,336 million, due mainly to a reduction in consumer electronics revenue from The Source, lower mobile device contracted sales transaction volumes, and lower telecom data equipment sales to large enterprise customers, reflecting the normalization of sales volumes in 2024 compared to exceptionally strong growth in 2023 attributable to the recovery from global supply chain disruptions.
• Bell CTS adjusted EBITDA grew 0.7% in Q4 to $2,436 million, yielding a 0.8 percentage-point margin increase to 42.9% from 42.1% in Q4 2023. This was driven by a 2.4% reduction in operating costs reflecting decreased labour costs attributable to workforce reduction initiatives undertaken over the past year and permanent closures of The Source stores as part of our strategic distribution partnership with Best Buy Canada, as well as technology and automation-enabled operating efficiencies across the organization. For full-year 2024, Bell CTS adjusted EBITDA was up 1.1% to $9,831 million with a margin increase to 45.5% from 44.3% in 2023.
• Postpaid mobile phone net subscriber activations totaled 56,550 in Q4, down 56.1% from 128,715 in Q4 2023. The decrease was the result of 9.5% lower gross subscriber activations, due to slowing population growth attributable to government immigration policies and lower contribution from The Source given store conversions to Best Buy Express. The increase in mobile phone postpaid customer churn¹⁶ to 1.66% from 1.63% in Q4 2023 also contributed to lower year-over-year net adds, reflecting greater competitive market activity and promotional offer intensity compared to last year. For full-year 2024, postpaid mobile phone net activations were 213,408, down 49.9%, reflecting higher mobile phone postpaid customer churn of 1.33% compared to 1.15% in 2023, as gross subscriber activations increased 2.0%.
• Bell's prepaid mobile phone customer base^13,14,16 declined by 5,480 net subscribers in Q4, compared to a net loss of 36,630 in Q4 2023. The improvement was the result of 15.0% growth in gross activations, driven by expanded retail distribution as the customer churn rate remained stable at 6.15%. For full-year 2024, we reported a net gain of 96,109 prepaid mobile phone customers, compared to a net loss of 14,983 in 2023, driven by 15.3% higher gross activations and a lower churn rate of 5.28%, compared to 5.31% in 2023.
• Bell's mobile phone customer base^12,13,14,16 totalled 10,288,574 at the end of 2024, an increase of 1,528 over 2023, comprised of 9,530,436 postpaid subscribers^12,16, up 1.1%, and 758,138 prepaid customers, down 12.3%. As of December 31, 2024, we removed 124,216 Bell prepaid mobile phone subscribers from our prepaid mobile phone subscriber base as we stopped selling new plans for this service as of that date.
• Mobile phone blended ARPU was down 2.7% to $57.15 in Q4. The decrease was due to the cumulative impact of sustained competitive pressures on base rate plan pricing over the past year, lower overage revenue from customers subscribing to unlimited and larger capacity data plans, and lower outbound roaming revenue as a result of increasing adoption of Canada-U.S. plans. For full-year 2024, mobile phone blended ARPU decreased 2.0%.
• Mobile connected device net activations increased 27.4% in Q4 to 100,343 and 6.0% in 2024 to 310,882, driven by strong demand for Bell IoT services, including business solutions and connected car subscriptions, and fewer data device deactivations. At the end of 2024, mobile connected device subscribers¹⁶ totalled 3,043,430, an increase of 11.4% over 2023.
• Bell added 34,187 total net new retail Internet subscribers¹⁶ in Q4, down 38.5% from 55,591 in Q4 2023 – Q4 2023 being our second-best Q4 result in nearly two decades. Despite continued strong demand for Bell's fibre services and bundled offerings with mobile service, the year-over-year decrease reflects slowing industry growth given an already high Canadian Internet penetration rate, less new fibre footprint expansion compared to last year, and higher customer deactivations attributable to aggressive promotional offers by competitors offering cable, wholesale fibre, fixed wireless and satellite Internet services. For full-year 2024, total retail Internet net activations were 131,521, compared to 187,126 in 2023. Retail Internet subscribers totalled 4,490,896 at the end of 2024^12,13,16,17, a 0.4% increase from 2023.
• Bell's retail IPTV customer base decreased by 444 net subscribers¹⁶ in Q4, compared to a net gain of 23,537 in Q4 2023. The year-over-year decrease was due mainly to lower customer activations, particularly on our Fibe TV streaming service, and less pull-through of our full-service Bell Fibe TV product as a result of lower Internet volumes. For full-year 2024, retail IPTV net activations totalled 21,614, down from 81,918 in 2023. At the end of 2024, Bell served 2,132,953 retail IPTV subscribers^16,17, a 3.0% increase over 2023.
• Retail residential NAS net losses were 42,591 in Q4, compared to 38,347 in Q4 2023. The higher year-over-year net losses reflect fewer gross activations partly due to less pull-through from lower Internet volumes. For full-year 2024, retail residential NAS net losses were 187,426, compared to 176,612 in 2023. Bell's retail residential NAS customer base^16,17 totalled 1,834,191 at the end of 2024, representing a 9.3% decline compared to 2023.

Bell Media

• Bell Media operating revenue increased 1.2% in Q4 to $832 million, driven by both higher year-over-year advertising and subscriber revenues. For full-year 2024, media operating revenue grew 1.1% to $3,151 million, reflecting higher advertising revenue, partly offset by lower subscriber revenue.
• Advertising revenue was up 0.4% in Q4, reflecting higher digital advertising revenue, including the financial contribution from the acquisition of OUTEDGE Media Canada, and stronger year-over-year TV sports specialty performance. This result was achieved despite continued soft overall traditional TV advertiser demand. For full-year 2024, advertising revenue grew 2.8%.
• Subscriber revenue increased 2.0% in Q4 on continued Crave and sports direct-to-consumer streaming subscriber growth. For full-year 2024, subscriber revenue decreased 1.1%.
• Total digital revenues grew 6% in Q4 and 19% in 2024, driven by strong growth in digital advertising that was fuelled by Bell Media's programmatic advertising marketplace as well as continued Crave and sports direct-to-consumer streaming subscriber growth. The increase in digital advertising revenue reflects growth in ad-supported subscription tiers on Crave, Connected TV and FAST channels. Digital revenues represented 42% of total Bell Media revenue in 2024, up from 35% in 2023.
• Total Crave subscriptions increased 18% from last year to more than 3.6 million, which was driven by a 51% increase in Crave direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers, while sports direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers increased 66%. Q4 2024 was the most watched quarter in Crave history for hours viewed; 2024 was the most watched year in Crave history for hours viewed.
• Adjusted EBITDA in Q4 was up 14.2% to $169 million, delivering a 2.3 percentage-point increase in margin to 20.3%. This was driven by the flow-through of higher operating revenue as well as a 1.6% decline in operating costs, reflecting restructuring initiatives undertaken over the past year and lower content costs. For full-year 2024, Bell Media adjusted EBITDA grew 8.8% to $758 million with a margin increase to 24.1% compared to 22.4% in 2023.
• TSN remained Canada's number one sports network and was the top specialty channel overall in Q4 2024; RDS was the top-ranked French-language non-news specialty channel and French-language sports network overall.
• For Q4 2024, Bell Media was ranked number one in full-day viewership in the French-language entertainment specialty and pay market.
• CTV is the most-watched conventional network in Canada in primetime for the 23^rd year in a row (A25-54), with 14 programs in the Top 20 among P2+.
• Bell Media radio listening was up 4% in 2024, compared to 2023, in a market that was down 4%.

COMMON SHARE DIVIDEND

We are maintaining BCE's annualized common share dividend at its current level of $3.99 per common share. 

BCE's Board of Directors has declared today a quarterly dividend of $0.9975 per common share, payable on April 15, 2025 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 14, 2025.

BCE's common share dividend and common share dividend payout policy will continue to be reviewed by the Board. In its review, the Board will consider the competitive, macroeconomic and regulatory environments as well as progress being made on our strategic and operational roadmap. 

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK FOR 2025

The table below provides our 2025 financial guidance targets. We expect wireless and broadband competitive pricing flowthrough pressure from 2024, lower subscriber loadings, decreased wireless product sales and higher media content and programming costs to impact revenue and adjusted EBITDA. We expect a slowdown of our fibre build in Canada and efficiencies from transformation initiatives to drive lower capital expenditures. We expect increased interest expense, higher depreciation and amortization expense, lower gains on sale of real estate and a higher number of common shares outstanding due to the implementation of a discounted dividend reinvestment plan. For 2025, we also expect lower capital expenditures to drive higher free cash flow. The guidance ranges below are unaffected by the pending divestiture of Northwestel and also exclude the acquisition of Ziply Fiber, which is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

Please see the section entitled "Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" later in this news release for a description of the principal assumptions on which BCE's 2025 financial guidance targets are based, as well as the principal related risk factors.