SaskTel sees income dip for a 4th year in a row
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Saskatchewan Crown corporations have released their annual fiscal reports, and SaskTel is down over 10 million in net income from the previous year.
For the 2024/25 fiscal year, net income was $82.2 million. Net income for 2023/24 was $95.4 million.
The Saskatchewan NDP claims the decrease will drive up prices for consumers.
Erika Ritchie, Saskatchewan Crown Investments Corporation critic, said this is the fourth year in a row net income is down.
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'That's not a blip, that's a pattern of decline under this government's watch,' said Ritchie.
Total revenue was up $16.4 million from the previous year at $1,364.9 million, however it was below target.
Jeff Welke, SaskTel's Corporate Affairs Director, said this is due to competitive pressure in areas such as wireless networks, MaxTV and fixed broadband data services.
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'We are well-positioned. We're keeping our market share quite strong, and we do compete in a very, very hot telecommunications marketplace,' said Welke.
At the close of the fiscal year, SaskTel's debt ratio also increased to 56.5 per cent, an increase of 50 basis points.
The overall level of net debt increased primarily to fund continued investment in its fibre and 5G networks.
The company invested $398.5 million in SaskTel InfiNet service in 2024/25.
'We're going up to communities, quite frankly, that none of our competitors would,' said Welke. 'I mean, Starlink is a competitive offering out there, however, fibre is the gold standard.'
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