SaskTel Reports Net Income of $104.1 million

July 28, 2023

SaskTel today reported its financial results for the 2022/23 fiscal year including net income of $104.1 million and operating revenues of $1,330.1 million. These results highlight SaskTel's continued commitment to providing competitive services in the province and to keep Saskatchewan people connected by strengthening and investing in their world-class networks.

"This past year SaskTel invested $354.3 million in capital expenditures in our province," said Don Morgan, Minister Responsible for SaskTel. "This investment will continue to improve the coverage, capacity, reliability, and speed of SaskTel's networks, while creating opportunities to provide additional enhancements in the future."

"Throughout SaskTel's history, we have worked tirelessly to build, connect, and grow Saskatchewan," said Doug Burnett, SaskTel President and CEO. "As we work to advance and improve connectivity in this province, our focus remains steadfast on improving the customer experience and preparing for the innovations of tomorrow."

SaskTel's revenue is composed primarily of wireless network services and equipment revenue (48.2%), fixed broadband and data (22.4%), wireline communications (12.5%), and maxTV service (7.2%).

Response to world uncertainty

Throughout the year, SaskTel continued to support those in our community who were impacted by the crises in Ukraine, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. SaskTel waived all international text message fees and long-distance charges for SaskTel wireless (postpaid and prepaid), landline and business calls, and text messages made from Canada to these affected countries.

In June 2022, SaskTel announced a one-time donation of $50,000 to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress of Saskatchewan to help support Ukrainians coming to Saskatchewan to escape the conflict in their home country.

Financial Highlights

SaskTel's financial measures are focused on creating shareholder value, generating revenue and earnings, and effectively leveraging its capital investments. These measures provide important insight into its current financial performance and overall progress enhancing its long-term financial stability.

SaskTel declared dividends of $41.6 million to Crown Investments Corporation during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023. During the last five fiscal years, SaskTel has paid a total of $492.6 million in dividends while maintaining a debt ratio within industry standards.

At the end of the fiscal year 2022/23, SaskTel's debt ratio decreased to 54.5%, a decrease of ten basis points from the previous year. The overall level of net debt increased $66.6 million, primarily to fund continued investment in the fibre and 5G networks through investment in property, plant and equipment, and intangible assets.

Revenue for the fiscal year end was $1,330.1 million, an increase of $29.2 million reflecting growth in key business segments including wireless network services and equipment and fixed broadband and data. The largest growth in wireless network services and equipment revenue reflects SaskTel's growing subscriber base and continued demand for premium wireless devices.

SaskTel invested $354.3 million in capital expenditures in 2022/23. This investment ensures Saskatchewan families, businesses, and communities have access to advanced broadband and wireless technologies that are critical to build a more prosperous future for our province.

Of the $354.3 million, $100.3 million was spent on Wireless, including 5G, LTE and Wi-Fi, and $77.8 million was spent on SaskTel's Fibre-to-the-X program. These major investments, along with the rest of the capital investments, have strengthened SaskTel's systems and networks, our provincial economy, and will ensure Saskatchewan is well-positioned to compete and succeed in an emerging smart environment.

As of March 31, 2023, SaskTel's wireless network includes more than 1,000 cell towers, over 700 of which are located in rural parts of the province. SaskTel's 5G network, the next generation of wireless technology, is available across approximately 54% of the province, with 178 wireless sites enabled for further deployment over the next several years.

SaskTel continues to make ongoing upgrades to its broadband facilities, bringing SaskTel infiNET™ service to the 9 major Saskatchewan centres and 29 additional communities. As the need for speed increases, infiNET services delivers gigabit per second speeds, allowing customers to surf, stream, and share more content faster than ever before.

In 2022/23, SaskTel also continued to make a difference in our province, though numerous sponsorships and partnerships. With the environment top of mind, they took steps to increase involvement and sponsorship of activities that have a focus on environmental sustainability or assist in promoting environmental education.

In all, SaskTel contributed $2,946,626 to 850 non-profit and charitable organizations, community associations, venues, events, and partnerships in more than 214 communities throughout the province during the 2022/23 fiscal year. The SaskTel Pioneers also contributed $273,973 in financial donations, $902,117 in-kind donations, and more than 31,800 volunteer hours. SaskTel TelCare, their employee-driven charitable donation program, also gave over $193,000 to 44 charitable and non-profit organizations operating across Saskatchewan, a number which includes SaskTel's 50% match.

Recognizing the role of small-and medium-sized local business in driving the provincial economy, SaskTel also continues to do its part to support Saskatchewan-based business for procurements.

This year, SaskTel collaborated with many external suppliers from across the province to provide products and services needed to operate its business, with 73.8% of SaskTel suppliers located in Saskatchewan.

About SaskTel

SaskTel is the leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) provider in Saskatchewan, with approximately $1.3 billion in annual revenue and nearly 1.4 million customer connections including more than 654,000 wireless accesses, 257,000 wireline network accesses, 295,000 internet and data accesses, 111,000 maxTV service subscribers, and 77,000 security monitoring customers. SaskTel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries offer a wide range of ICT products and services including competitive voice, data and Internet services, wireless data services, maxTV services, data centre services, cloud-based services, security monitoring services, advertising services, and international software and consulting services. SaskTel and its wholly-owned subsidiaries have a workforce of approximately 3,300 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). Visit SaskTel at www.sasktel.com.