(Reuters) -Canada’s Rogers Communications missed third-quarter revenue estimates on Thursday as lower-than-expected wireless subscribers additions offset its higher sports-related revenue, sending its shares down nearly 3%.
The owner of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team also announced a C$7 billion ($5.06 billion) equity financing deal with an undisclosed investor, which would help it reduce its debt.
Under this deal, Rogers will sell a minority equity interest in a portion of its wireless backhaul transport infrastructure.
Wireless backhaul transports data from the base of towers to the core of the network.
The telecom and media company added 101,000 monthly bill-paying wireless phone subscribers in the third quarter, compared with estimates of 129,040, according to analysts polled by Visible Alpha.
Under pressure from persistently high inflation, consumers in Canada have been switching to cheaper wireless plans to lower their expenses. Rogers also faces stiff competition from rivals BCE and Telus.
Still, its the media segment remains a bright spot, growing 11% in the third quarter and beating expectations, owing to higher sports related revenue.
Rogers has been aggressively investing into Canadian sports over the past few years to capitalize on its strong viewership and loyal fanbase amid a broader decline in traditional media.
The company bought Bell’s stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for C$4.7 billion last month to become the majority owner of the Canadian sports firm behind Toronto Raptors basketball team and NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.
The company’s total revenue of C$5.13 billion missed estimates of C$5.17 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
On an adjusted basis, Rogers earned C$1.42 per share, compared with estimates of C$1.35, aided by a 3% fall in total operating costs.
($1 = 1.3822 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Shreya Biswas)
