TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. reported its fourth-quarter profit edged lower compared with a year earlier as its wireless revenue fell.

The cable and wireless company says it earned $449 million or 89 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, down from $468 million or 92 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $3.68 billion, down from $3.95 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The company says the drop was largely due to an eight per cent drop in wireless service revenue which fell because of global travel restrictions and lower overage revenue as customers continued to adopt unlimited data plans.

Cable revenue rose three per cent, while media revenue fell 23 per cent due to the postponement of the start of the 2020-2021 NHL and NBA seasons and softness in the advertising market.

On an adjusted basis, Rogers says it earned 99 cents per diluted share for the quarter, down from $1 per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 98 cents per share for the quarter, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 28, 2021.

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