The company said it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 43.75 cents per share, down from 99.75 cents per share. The decision reduces BCE’s annual dividend from $3.99 to $1.75 per share.
BCE Inc. Q1 2025 Earnings
- Operating income: $5.93 billion
- Quarterly dividends: 43.75 cents per share
“When we debated in the case of deliberations on the board, and over the past few months, of course, have taken and listened to investors, we believe that resetting dividends … is the most responsible way to address our capital allocation strategy.”
“Essentially, the new dividend level allows us to remove leverage and invest in growth.”
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The impact of inflation affects Canadians’ mobile shopping habits
The company said the outlook for inflation and the global recession is weighing consumer confidence, while lower B.C. stock prices have led to higher capital costs. BCE’s board also considered such as “an unsupported regulatory environment in light of recent CRTC decisions” and a slowdown in Canadian immigration.
Bibich said there have been “significant changes” in the economic and operational environments that companies need to address since the fall of 2024.
Although more volatility occurred in the second half of that period last quarter when wireless prices began. Bibic said this and the “overall macro environment” affect Bell’s ability to improve subscriptions.
The net loss of BC was 9,598 postpaid mobile subscribers in the first quarter, compared with 45,247 net activations a year ago in the same period.
The company cites an “active market” that slows population growth due to federal immigration policies and has its own focus on “high-value subscriber burden”. Bibic said the main Bell brand had 25,000 net new customers this quarter, down 9,000 year-on-year.
