BCE Inc (BCE) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the BCE Q4 2024 Results and 2025 Guidance Call.

女士們、先生們，早安。歡迎參加 BCE 2024 年第四季業績和 2025 年指導電話會議。

I would like to turn the meeting over to Mr. Thane Fotopoulos. Please go ahead, Mr. Fotopoulos.

我想將會議交給 Thane Fotopoulos 先生。請繼續，Fotopoulos先生。

Thank you, Matthew, and good morning to everyone on the call. Thank you for joining us.

謝謝你，馬修，電話裡的各位早安。感謝您加入我們。

With me here today are Mirko Bibic, BCE’s President & CEO and our CFO, Curtis Millen.

今天與我一起在場的還有 BCE 總裁兼執行長 Mirko Bibic 和我們的財務長 Curtis Millen。

You can find all of our Q4 disclosure documents, including the safe harbor notice concerning the forward-looking statements for 2025 and our financial guidance targets for this year on the Investor Relations page of the bce.ca website which we posted earlier this morning.

您可以在我們今天早上發布的 bce.ca 網站的投資者關係頁面上找到我們所有的第四季度披露文件，包括有關 2025 年前瞻性聲明的安全港通知和我們今年的財務指導目標。

We have a lot of material to get through on this call. However, before we begin, I'd like to draw your attention to our safe harbor statement on slide 2, reminding you that today's slide presentation and remarks made during the call will include forward-looking information and therefore are subject to risks and uncertainties. Results could differ materially. We disclaim any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law. Please refer to our publicly filed documents for more details on assumptions and risks.

這次通話中我們需要討論很多材料。但是，在我們開始之前，我想提請您注意幻燈片 2 上的安全港聲明，提醒您今天的幻燈片演示和電話會議中的評論將包括前瞻性信息，因此可能會受到風險和不確定性的影響。結果可能會有重大差異。除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新前瞻性聲明的任何義務。有關假設和風險的更多詳細信息，請參閱我們公開提交的文件。

With that out of the way, I'll turn the call over to Mirko.

解決了這個問題之後，我將把電話轉給米爾科。

Thank you, Thane, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，Thane，大家早安。

Our financial results in Q4 and in 2024 demonstrate our disciplined execution in an ultra-competitive market as we took the necessary near-term actions to balance growth with profitability and to reduce costs to achieve our target objectives.

我們第四季和 2024 年的財務表現證明了我們在競爭極其激烈的市場中的嚴格執行，因為我們採取了必要的短期行動來平衡成長與獲利能力並降低成本以實現我們的目標。

In terms of overall consolidated financial performance, we achieved all our non-revenue targets for 2024. We were also within our revised revenue guidance objective, notwithstanding sustained aggressive wireless pricing in Q4 and continued softness in the traditional media advertising market. Notably, our consolidated EBITDA margin increased 1.2 points to 43.4%, our highest annual margin performance in over 30 years.

就整體綜合財務表現而言，我們實現了 2024 年的所有非收入目標。儘管第四季無線定價持續激進，傳統媒體廣告市場持續疲軟，但我們仍處於修訂後的營收預期目標之內。值得注意的是，我們的綜合 EBITDA 利潤率增加了 1.2 個百分點，達到 43.4%，這是我們 30 多年來最高的年度利潤率表現。

A few other select operating highlights for 2024, and I'll start with wireless. We delivered positive wireless service revenue growth despite the most pricing intense market we've ever seen. This is a direct reflection of our focus on premium brand customer loadings and managing our promotional offers responsibly. In fact, all our new postpaid customer net activations in 2024 were on the main Bell brand, which should help improve ARPU going forward.

2024 年的其他一些精選營運亮點，我將從無線開始。儘管市場價格競爭異常激烈，但我們的無線服務收入仍實現了正成長。這直接體現了我們對高端品牌客戶負擔的關注以及負責任地管理我們的促銷活動。事實上，我們 2024 年所有新的後付費客戶網路活化均來自主要的 Bell 品牌，這將有助於提高未來的 ARPU。

We grew broadband internet market share and drove higher multi-product penetration. This contributed to internet revenue growth of 3.3% and a 12% increase in households that subscribe to mobility and internet service bundles where we have fiber. We now have 3 million residential internet customers on our FTTH network and that's up 10% in 2024. Our speed advantage and quality gap over cable shows in these results and that will continue to grow over time.

我們擴大了寬頻網路市場份額並提高了多產品滲透率。這推動了網路收入成長 3.3%，並且在有光纖的地方訂購行動和網路服務套餐的家庭數量增加了 12%。目前，我們的 FTTH 網路上有 300 萬住宅網路客戶，到 2024 年這一數字將成長 10%。我們相對於有線電視的速度優勢和品質差距在這些結果中得到了體現，而這種優勢還會隨著時間的推移而不斷擴大。

Turning to media, we grew digital revenue 19% over last year, helping to offset the secular pressures in traditional media. Digital now comprises 42% of total media revenue and that's up from 35% in 2023. And this strategic shift to digital will be supported going forward with investments we made this past year, including the availability of Crave, TSN, and RDS content on Amazon Prime Video channels in Canada, the newly launched Crave, TSN, and RDS bundles; a new self-serve buying platform for advertisers looking to reach local audiences; Bell Media's multi-year extension of Crave's partnership with Warner Brothers Discovery for HBO and Max content and the launch of 10 new fast channels.

談到媒體，我們的數位收入比去年增長了19％，這有助於抵消傳統媒體的長期壓力。數位媒體目前佔媒體總收入的 42%，高於 2023 年的 35%。我們去年的投資將支持這項數位化策略轉變，包括在加拿大的 Amazon Prime Video 頻道提供 Crave、TSN 和 RDS 內容，以及新推出的 Crave、TSN 和 RDS 套裝；為希望接觸本地受眾的廣告主提供一個新的自助購買平台； Bell Media 延長 Crave 與華納兄弟探索頻道 (Warner Brothers Discovery) 的多年合作關係，以推出 HBO 和 Max 內容並推出 10 個新的快速頻道。

We also made further progress in advancing our BCE transformation agenda by continuing to leverage technology, automation, and simplification to drive meaningful CapEx and meaningful operating cost efficiencies. These transformation initiatives, together with savings realized from our workforce reduction program, delivered well over $200 million in cost savings in 2024. We're also seeing the benefit in terms of lowering CapEx, which declined $684 million in 2024 to approximately $3.9 billion. And our momentum to advance our position as a tech services leader in the business enterprise space also continued to ramp up in 2024, with strong business solutions services revenue growth of 18%.

我們也透過持續利用技術、自動化和簡化來推動有意義的資本支出和有意義的營運成本效率，在推動 BCE 轉型議程方面取得了進一步的進展。這些轉型措施加上我們透過裁員計畫實現的節省，在 2024 年帶來了超過 2 億美元的成本節省。我們也看到了降低資本支出的好處，資本支出在 2024 年下降了 6.84 億美元至約 39 億美元。2024 年，我們作為企業領域技術服務領導者地位的提升動能也將持續增強，商業解決方案服務收入將實現 18% 的強勁成長。

In summary, our performance in 2024 reflects a focused company in the midst of transformation, while at the same time driving day-to-day execution to serve our customers, grow subscribers profitably, and prudently manage costs.

總而言之，我們 2024 年的業績反映出公司在轉型過程中的專注，同時推動日常執行，以服務客戶、獲利地增加用戶，並審慎管理成本。

I'm now going to turn to slide 4 of our presentation. Bell is an iconic company that's delivering on its purpose to advance how Canadians connect with each other in the world. At the same time, we're operating in an environment with the lowest pricing we've ever seen, as I mentioned, and with continued macroeconomic and regulatory pressures.

我現在要翻到我們簡報的第 4 張投影片。貝爾是一家標誌性公司，其宗旨是促進加拿大人在世界各地的相互聯繫。同時，正如我所提到的，我們的營運環境價格處於有史以來的最低水平，而且宏觀經濟和監管壓力持續存在。

This has resulted in revenue declines. In this context, it's incumbent on us to develop a business strategy that will generate revenue growth. And critical to the successful execution of the strategic plan is prudent management of our balance sheet and capital allocation priorities. We've spent considerable time with our shareholders, and we've heard their perspectives. So let me outline very clearly our plan of action that will carry us for years to come that focuses on our customers and on creating value for shareholders.

這導致收入下降。在這種背景下，我們有責任制定一項能夠實現收入成長的商業策略。成功執行策略計畫的關鍵在於審慎管理我們的資產負債表和資本配置優先事項。我們花了大量時間與股東交流，並聽取了他們的觀點。因此，讓我非常清楚地概述我們未來幾年的行動計劃，該計劃將專注於我們的客戶和為股東創造價值。

It plays to our strengths and it prioritizes the following core elements, putting the customer first, offering the best internet and wireless networks and services, business technology services leadership and fourth, building a digital media and content powerhouse. There's a fifth pillar as well, and that's to continue to transform our business by leveraging technology, automation, and simplification in a way that's more agile, lower touch, and digital to drive even more meaningful CapEx and operating cost efficiencies than we've already delivered.

它發揮我們的優勢，並優先考慮以下核心要素：客戶至上、提供最好的網路和無線網路和服務、商業技術服務領導力，以及第四，打造數位媒體和內容強國。還有第五個支柱，那就是繼續利用技術、自動化和簡化來轉變我們的業務，使其更加靈活、更低接觸和數位化，從而推動比我們已經實現的更有意義的資本支出和營運成本效率。

I'll now go through each element of the plan. Let's go to slide 5. As you can see, it begins and ends with the customer. Customers are our top priority. They're looking to access faster, easier experiences on their terms. We strive to make it easy for our customers to do business with us, whether that's doing what they say -- what we say we'll do, getting you the right help fast, offering bill accuracy and transparency, making it right if we fall short, or providing the same information, whether you call us, visit us, or go to a store or go online.

我現在將詳細闡述該計劃的每個要素。我們來看第 5 張投影片。如您所見，一切始於客戶，終於客戶。顧客是我們的首要任務。他們希望以自己的方式獲得更快、更輕鬆的體驗。我們努力使客戶能夠輕鬆地與我們開展業務，無論是按照他們說的做——我們說到做到，快速為您提供正確的幫助，提供準確和透明的賬單，在我們做不到時予以糾正，還是提供相同的信息，無論您是致電我們、訪問我們、去商店還是上網。

This approach drives significant cost savings and a massively improved customer experience which results in better customer satisfaction, lower churn, and ultimately, revenue growth and higher customer lifetime value. Bell is the first Canadian telecom company to name a dedicated Chief Customer Experience Officer with a mandate to create best-in-class experiences for our customers in every encounter across all channels. The new role is responsible for the entire customer experience from end-to-end sales, installation, billing, support, managing changes to plans and packages and technology changes.

這種方法可以顯著節省成本，大大改善客戶體驗，從而提高客戶滿意度，降低客戶流失率，最終實現收入成長和客戶終身價值提高。貝爾是第一家任命專職首席客戶體驗官的加拿大電信公司，其職責是在所有管道的每一次接觸中為客戶創造一流的體驗。新職位負責從端到端銷售、安裝、計費、支援、管理計劃和套餐變更以及技術變更的整個客戶體驗。

We're prioritizing digital interactions to create smoother and more seamless processes for customers whether they want to purchase new services, change their plan or simply get support with a technical or billing issue and we'll continue to take advantage of the award-winning [MyBell] app, virtual repair, and self-install tools. But we know that everyone has a different level of comfort with technology, so we'll always provide options to those who prefer to speak to a customer service agent on the phone.

我們優先考慮數位交互，為客戶創建更順暢、更無縫的流程，無論他們是想購買新服務、更改計劃還是僅僅獲得技術或計費問題的支持，我們都將繼續利用屢獲殊榮的 [MyBell] 應用程式、虛擬維修和自助安裝工具。但我們知道每個人對科技的舒適程度不同，所以我們始終會為那些喜歡透過電話與客服人員交談的人提供選擇。

Now let's go to slide 6. As I said, our plan is to create sustained revenue growth that will benefit customers and investors now and well into the future. Our broadband internet and wireless networks are the foundation of our business. Fiber is the future. It's the winning strategy, offering the fastest internet technology and providing a more durable alternative to copper, cable, or fixed wireless. We've been transforming ourselves into a fiber-first company, and that is going to continue, and our fiber growth will be supercharged with the acquisition of Ziply Fiber, the largest broadband and fiber in net provider in the US Pacific Northwest.

現在我們來看第 6 張投影片。正如我所說，我們的計劃是實現持續的收入成長，讓現在和未來的客戶和投資者受益。我們的寬頻網路和無線網路是我們業務的基礎。光纖代表未來。這是一個成功的策略，提供最快的互聯網技術並提供比銅線、電纜或固定無線更耐用的替代方案。我們一直在將自己轉變為光纖優先的公司，而且這一趨勢將會持續下去，隨著收購美國太平洋西北地區最大的寬頻和光纖網路供應商 Ziply Fiber，我們的光纖成長將會增強。

This strategic acquisition will grow BCE's position as North America's third largest fiber internet provider. By year-end 2028, we expect to have approximately 12 million fiber passings in North America. This will accelerate subscriber, revenue, and EBITDA growth for Bell, generating long-term value for our customers and shareholders. And as we announced previously, we intend to finance the Ziply Fiber deal largely with the net proceeds from the pending sale of MLSE. This is a very strategic redeployment of capital into our core business and a clear indication that we will act on compelling opportunities to monetize non-core assets.

此次策略性收購將鞏固 BCE 作為北美第三大光纖網路供應商的地位。到 2028 年底，我們預計北美的光纖使用量將達到約 1,200 萬。這將加速貝爾的用戶、收入和 EBITDA 成長，為我們的客戶和股東創造長期價值。正如我們之前宣布的那樣，我們打算主要使用 MLSE 即將出售的淨收益來為 Ziply Fiber 交易提供資金。這是對我們核心業務的一次非常策略性的資本重新部署，也明確表明我們將抓住絕佳機會將非核心資產貨幣化。

Next, we have wireless. It's a tough environment right now in Canada as the industry is going through a period of unprecedented price competition. But as that stabilizes and as we continue to focus on costs and operational simplification, wireless will remain a key growth vector. We're going to continue to focus on value accretion, delivering better quality margin-accretive subscriber loadings on our main Bell brand and increasing service bundle penetration in multi-line sales while managing pricing and churn.

接下來我們有無線。目前加拿大的環境十分艱難，因為該產業正經歷前所未有的價格競爭時期。但隨著情況穩定下來，我們繼續專注於成本和營運簡化，無線仍將是關鍵的成長載體。我們將繼續專注於價值增值，在我們的主要貝爾品牌上提供更優質、更能增加利潤的用戶負載，並在管理定價和客戶流失的同時提高多線銷售中服務捆綁的滲透率。

The third key area of focus to generate revenue growth is technology solutions leadership in enterprise. We've set an ambitious goal to generate $1 billion in annual revenue by 2030. Our enterprise customers are transforming their businesses, and they want our help. Bell created a leading IT services and cybersecurity business accelerated by the acquisitions of FX Innovation, HGC Technologies, Stratejm, and CloudKettle. We're going to deliver among the best technology solutions in end-to-end cloud, IT, workflow automation, and security, leveraging our strong partnerships with AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Palo Alto and others that are complementary to those acquisitions and important to our success going forward. This supports our goal to become the IT systems integrator and managed services provider of choice to key industry verticals.

創造收入成長的第三個重點領域是企業的技術解決方案領導。我們設定了一個雄心勃勃的目標，在 2030 年實現年收入 10 億美元。我們的企業客戶正在轉變他們的業務，他們需要我們的幫助。Bell 創建了領先的 IT 服務和網路安全業務，並透過收購 FX Innovation、HGC Technologies、Stratejm 和 CloudKettle 加速其發展。我們將利用與 AWS、Azure、Google Cloud、Salesforce、ServiceNow、Palo Alto 和其他公司的強大合作夥伴關係，提供端到端雲端、IT、工作流程自動化和安全領域的最佳技術解決方案，這些合作夥伴關係是對這些收購的補充，對我們未來的成功至關重要。這支持了我們成為主要垂直行業首選的 IT 系統整合商和託管服務提供者的目標。

The fourth big opportunity is continuing Bell Media's momentum and pivoting from a traditional broadcaster to a digital media and content powerhouse. That journey is well underway with 42% of our media revenue now coming from digital sources. That's up from just 17% in 2020. And here's something I haven't shared with you before. About half of that $1.3 billion in annual revenue is new digital revenue from products, including direct-to-consumer streaming, Crave with ads, connected TV, and other ad-supported streaming options such as fast channels.

第四個重大機會是延續貝爾傳媒的發展勢頭，從傳統廣播公司轉型為數位媒體和內容巨頭。這趟旅程正在順利進行中，目前我們 42% 的媒體收入均來自數位來源。這一數字比 2020 年的 17% 有所上升。這是我之前沒有跟你分享過的事。在 13 億美元的年收入中，約有一半是來自產品的新數位收入，包括直接面向消費者的串流媒體、帶有廣告的 Crave、連網電視和其他廣告支援的串流媒體選項，如快速頻道。

Notably, the other half of our digital revenue comes from advertisers buying ads on our traditional platforms and who use Bell Media's digitally enabled sales tools to optimize their ad campaigns. Bell first-party data to optimize advertising placement on our traditional channels and Bell Analytics to measure the success of that advertising. Importantly, this allows us to protect a large portion of our traditional revenue because of the customer experience and value out of our digital tools.

值得注意的是，我們數位收入的另一半來自在我們的傳統平台上購買廣告的廣告商，他們使用貝爾媒體的數位銷售工具來優化他們的廣告活動。Bell 第一方數據用於優化我們傳統管道上的廣告投放，並使用 Bell Analytics 來衡量廣告的成功。重要的是，這使我們能夠透過數位工具提供的客戶體驗和價值來保護很大一部分傳統收入。

The fifth key pillar is outlined on slide 7 of our presentation. As I mentioned, our execution will continue to be supported by our ongoing business transformation from a traditional telco to a techco. And what I really mean by that is modernizing and simplifying how we do business and how we operate. Our goal is to generate $1 billion in cost savings by 2028, if not sooner. We have a number of focused initiatives underway, including consolidating our consumer order and billing systems, automating manual back-office functions, deploying cloud-based workflow management and CRM platforms, deploying a cloud-based TV service, prioritizing digital interactions, enabling more self-install, and of course, migrating customers from copper to fiber, so we can decommission copper. We started this business transformation in 2022, and at the end of 2024, we were halfway towards our stated goal.

我們簡報的第 7 張投影片概述了第五個關鍵支柱。正如我所提到的，我們正在進行的從傳統電信公司到科技公司的業務轉型將繼續支持我們的執行力。我真正想表達的是，讓我們的經營方式和運作方式變得現代化和簡化。我們的目標是到 2028 年甚至更早實現 10 億美元的成本節約。我們目前正在實施一系列重點舉措，包括整合我們的消費者訂單和計費系統、自動化手動後台功能、部署基於雲端的工作流程管理和 CRM 平台、部署基於雲端的電視服務、優先考慮數位互動、實現更多自助安裝，當然還有將客戶從銅線遷移到光纖，這樣我們就可以淘汰銅線。我們在 2022 年開始這項業務轉型，到 2024 年底，我們已經完成了既定目標的一半。

I'll now turn to slide 8 and address our balance sheet management and capital allocation strategy. Our approach to capital allocation is to balance long-term investment to generate growth while strengthening the balance sheet and optimizing our cost of capital. We remain focused on maintaining investment-grade credit ratings for our senior debt and lowering our leverage ratio closer to our target policy of three times adjusted EBITDA.

現在我將轉到第 8 張投影片，討論我們的資產負債表管理和資本配置策略。我們的資本配置方法是平衡長期投資以促進成長，同時加強資產負債表並優化資本成本。我們仍致力於維持優先債務的投資等級信用評級，並將槓桿率降低至更接近三倍調整後 EBITDA 的目標政策。

Regarding our dividend, we recognized that we have an elevated payout ratio that is outside our policy range. That's reflected in BCE's share price and dividend yield, which we are disappointed with. BCE's dividend and dividend policy will continue to be reviewed by the Board, taking into consideration the competitive macroeconomic and regulatory environments as well as the progress being made on the initiatives being discussed today.

關於我們的股息，我們認識到我們的派息率過高，超出了我們的政策範圍。這反映在 BCE 的股價和股息殖利率上，我們對此感到失望。董事會將繼續審查 BCE 的股息和股息政策，同時考慮競爭性的宏觀經濟和監管環境以及今天討論的舉措所取得的進展。

I also want to make clear that the discounted DRP, the [DRP] is in place for now. As opportunities arise to monetize non-core assets, access the hybrid debt market and establish more capital-efficient ways to fund our US fiber build, all of which would drive a lower cost of capital, then we would look to turn off the DRP program.

我還想明確表示，折扣 DRP，[DRP] 現在已經到位。隨著非核心資產貨幣化、進入混合債務市場和建立更具資本效率的方式為我們的美國光纖建設提供資金的機會出現，所有這些都將降低資本成本，然後我們將考慮關閉 DRP 計劃。

In terms of capital investment, we continue to lower CapEx and capital intensity while continuing to invest significantly in our business just as we said we would back in 2021 when we first announced our accelerated CapEx program. Last February, we said that our plan was to reduce CapEx by more than $1 billion over the 2024, 2025 timeframe. In fact, we're ahead of plan having achieved nearly 70% of that objective by the end of 2024.

在資本投資方面，我們繼續降低資本支出和資本密集度，同時繼續對我們的業務進行大量投資，就像我們在 2021 年首次宣布加速資本支出計畫時所說的那樣。去年二月，我們表示我們的計畫是在 2024 年、2025 年期間將資本支出減少 10 億美元以上。事實上，我們已經提前完成了計劃，到 2024 年底已經實現了近 70% 的目標。

However, because of the CRTC's rejection on Monday of a Governor and Council request to reconsider its November 2023 decision that provided TELUS and other large carriers temporary wholesale tariff access to our FTTH network, we are cutting CapEx by more than we anticipated would be the case for 2025, and with that, our capital intensity ratio will be approximately 14% in 2025. This reduction is clearly greater than what we would have done otherwise.

然而，由於週一 CRTC 拒絕了州長和理事會的請求，重新考慮其 2023 年 11 月的決定，該決定為 TELUS 和其他大型運營商提供了我們 FTTH 網路的臨時批發費率訪問權，我們將資本支出削減幅度超過我們預期的 2025 年水平，這樣一來，我們的資本密集度比率在 2025 年。這項減少幅度顯然比我們原本採取的措施更大。

Consequently, we will not be delivering our fiber build-out target of 8.3 million homes by the end of this year. So what originally began as a 9 million deployment plan in 2021 will now be less than 8.3 million. This decrease in our fiber build-out is a direct result of the CRTC's refusal to ban TELUS and other large carriers from reselling the FTTP network we've built. We will revisit our build-out plan if the CRTC reverses its decision.

因此，我們將無法在今年底實現 830 萬戶光纖鋪設目標。因此，2021 年最初的 900 萬部署計畫現在將不到 830 萬。光纖建設減少的直接原因是 CRTC 拒絕禁止 TELUS 和其他大型業者轉售我們已經建置的 FTTP 網路。如果 CRTC 改變決定，我們將重新審視我們的建設計劃。

Our position on this issue has been stated many times. The CRTC's decision is, in our view, misguided as it goes against its long-standing facilities-based competition policies, which have clearly encouraged private investment. These policies have enabled our significant network investments that brought fiber to millions of homes and businesses for the benefit of Canadians.

我們在這個問題上的立場已經多次闡明。我們認為，CRTC 的決定是錯誤的，因為它違反了其長期以來基於設施的競爭政策，而該政策明顯鼓勵私人投資。這些政策使我們的重大網路投資得以實現，將光纖帶入數百萬家庭和企業，造福加拿大人。

Post 2025, BCE's capital intensity ratio, including Ziply Fiber is projected to be at most 16.5%, while Bell's standalone capital intensity is projected to drop below 14%. Regarding Ziply Fiber, that acquisition allows us to move capital to an asset that will drive significant growth in our core fiber business in a leverage-neutral manner. We forecast very compelling IRRs for the targeted 3.3 million homes to be passed by Ziply Fiber by the end of 2028. We would review other potential opportunities to grow that fiber footprint but only with a build-out structure that would bring third-party capital to invest alongside Bell effectively reducing BCE's funding requirements.

2025 年後，包括 Ziply Fiber 在內的 BCE 的資本密集度預計最多為 16.5%，而 Bell 的獨立資本密集度預計將降至 14% 以下。對於 Ziply Fiber，此次收購使我們能夠將資本轉移到一項資產上，從而以槓桿中性的方式推動我們核心光纖業務的顯著成長。我們預測，到 2028 年底，Ziply Fiber 將覆蓋 330 萬戶家庭，其 IRR 將非常可觀。我們將研究擴大光纖覆蓋範圍的其他潛在機會，但只能採用能夠引入第三方資本與貝爾一起投資的建設結構，從而有效減少 BCE 的資金需求。

Turning to debt. We appreciate that many shareholders would like us to focus on deleveraging. We're carefully reviewing our non-core assets and we'll continue to capitalize on opportunities to monetize them where it makes financial and strategic sense. This review process has already resulted in the planned divestitures of Northwestel and MLSE.

轉向債務。我們理解許多股東希望我們專注於去槓桿。我們正在仔細審查我們的非核心資產，並將繼續利用機會在具有財務和戰略意義的地方將其貨幣化。這一審查過程已經導致了 Northwestel 和 MLSE 的計劃剝離。

Additional non-core assets have been identified and any proceeds of their sale are expected to be used to strengthen our balance sheet, improve our leverage ratio, and optimize our cost of capital. Between Northwestel, MLSE, and potential other non-core asset divestitures, we see up to $7 billion being generated. In addition, there's a significant amount of untapped value that exists in our telecom infrastructure and we're assessing the best ways to surface that value. Financial advisers have been retained to assist in this regard given the importance of such potential transactions.

我們已經確定了其他非核心資產，其出售所得預計將用於加強我們的資產負債表、提高我們的槓桿率和優化我們的資本成本。我們預計，Northwestel、MLSE 以及其他潛在的非核心資產剝離將產生高達 70 億美元的收益。此外，我們的電信基礎設施中還存在大量未開發的價值，我們正在評估挖掘這些價值的最佳方式。鑑於此類潛在交易的重要性，我們已聘請財務顧問協助處理此事。

In conclusion, the strategic and operational roadmap I've shared in detail today will guide our actions for 2025 and beyond. To quickly recap and to summarize the main elements of that roadmap, here's what we're going to do. Put the customer first in our decisions, continue to execute in a disciplined manner in Canada, focusing on margin-accretive subscriber growth using our fiber and 5G wireless network advantages, work towards building a $1 billion-plus revenue technology services business, rapidly accelerate Bell Media's digital revenue mix, generate $500 million in further transformation savings to reach $1 billion by 2028, considering divesting up to $7 billion in non-core assets, inclusive of our pending sales of Northwestel and MLSE, and optimize our cost of capital as we continue to focus on maintaining investment-grade credit ratings for our senior debt. We will share our progress on these various elements with the investment community transparently and regularly.

最後，我今天詳細分享的策略和營運路線圖將指導我們2025年及以後的行動。為了快速回顧和總結該路線圖的主要內容，我們將執行以下操作。在決策中將客戶放在第一位，繼續在加拿大以嚴謹的方式執行，專注於利用我們的光纖和5G無線網路優勢實現利潤增長的用戶增長，努力打造收入超過10億美元的技術服務業務，迅速加速貝爾媒體的數位收入組合，創造5億美元的進一步轉型節約，到2028年實現我們10億美元，考慮剝離我們將高達70億美元的積分債務的投資等級信用評級。我們將透明、定期地與投資界分享我們在這些各個要素上的進展。

And before I hand it over to Curtis for a review of our Q4 operating results and financial guidance targets for 2025, let me conclude with a couple of thank yous. First, to the entire Bell team for your perseverance, dedication, and resourcefulness in a challenging environment, and second, to Thane, as this is his last analyst call after many years of outstanding service to our company, which we greatly appreciate.

在我將報告交給 Curtis 來審查我們第四季度的營運表現和 2025 年的財務指導目標之前，請允許我最後說幾句感謝的話。首先，我們要感謝整個貝爾團隊在充滿挑戰的環境中表現出的毅力、奉獻精神和足智多謀；其次，我們要感謝 Thane，這是他多年來為我們公司提供出色服務後最後一次擔任分析師，我們對此深表感謝。

And with that, Curtis, over to you.

現在，柯蒂斯，輪到你了。

Great. Thank you, Mirko, and good morning, everyone.

偉大的。謝謝你，米爾科，大家早安。

I will begin on slide 10 with BCE's consolidated financial results. Adjusted EBITDA was up 1.5%, which drove a 90-point margin improvement to 40.6%. As expected, total revenue was down 0.8%, reflecting the flow-through impact of sustained competitive pricing pressures over the past year and ongoing declines in legacy voice, data, and satellite TV services.

我將從第 10 張投影片開始介紹 BCE 的綜合財務結果。調整後 EBITDA 上漲 1.5%，推動利潤率提高 90 個百分點，達到 40.6%。正如預期，總收入下降了 0.8%，反映了過去一年持續的競爭性定價壓力以及傳統語音、數據和衛星電視服務的持續下滑所帶來的影響。

Both Q4 net earnings and adjusted EPS were up over last year, reflecting higher EBITDA and some non-cash mark-to-market gains on FX hedges and options. CapEx was down $66 million in Q4, bringing total CapEx savings to $684 million this year, which was, as Mirko commented, well ahead of our plan to reduce capital investment by at least $500 million in 2024. Lastly, Q4 free cash flow was in line with our quarterly forecast, reflecting higher interest paid as well as the timing of cash tax installment payments and working capital.

第四季淨利和調整後每股盈餘均較去年同期上漲，反映出 EBITDA 上漲以及外匯對沖和選擇權帶來的一些非現金市價收益。第四季的資本支出下降了 6,600 萬美元，使今年的總資本支出節省至 6.84 億美元，正如 Mirko 所說，這遠遠超出了我們在 2024 年減少至少 5 億美元資本投資的計劃。最後，第四季度自由現金流與我們的季度預測一致，反映了支付的利息更高以及現金稅分期付款和營運資金的時間表。

Turning to Bell CTS on slide 11. Postpaid net adds of 56,550 were down versus a very strong Q4 last year. Consistent with our focus on margin-accretive subscriber acquisition, all new customers were on the main Bell brand. While postpaid churn was up and remains higher than we'd like, it did represent a fourth straight quarter of deceleration in the year-over-year rate of increase. Mobile phone ARPU was down 2.7% and this is a notable improvement versus the 3.4% decline in Q3.

前往幻燈片 11 上的 Bell CTS。後付費淨新增用戶數為 56,550 人，與去年第四季的強勁表現相比有所下降。與我們對增加利潤的用戶獲取的關註一致，所有新客戶都使用貝爾主品牌。儘管後付費用戶流失率上升且仍高於我們的預期，但這確實代表著同比成長率連續第四個季度放緩。手機ARPU下降2.7%，與第三季3.4%的降幅相比有明顯改善。

In the internet, we delivered over 34,000 total new net retail subscribers. We continue to capture the majority of new growth in our markets because of fiber, even as industry growth is slowing due to high broadband penetration, fewer newcomers and less new footprint expansion. In TV, we lost 444 net IPTV subscribers in Q4, compared to a net gain of 23,537 a year ago, due to lower internet volumes and fewer Fibe TV app activations, which can vary quarter to quarter.

網路方面，我們共新增淨零售用戶超過34,000戶。儘管由於寬頻普及率高、新進入者減少和新業務擴張減少導致行業成長放緩，但我們仍能透過光纖繼續佔據市場上大部分新成長。在電視方面，由於網路流量下降和 Fibe TV 應用程式啟動量減少，我們第四季度淨流失了 444 名 IPTV 用戶，而去年同期則淨增了 23,537 名，而且每個季度的情況都有所不同。

Moving to Bell CTS financials. Total revenue decreased 1.1%, a sequential improvement from the negative 3.3% in Q3. Wireless service revenue was down 1.5%. We expect the rate of decline will improve going forward as ARPU improves, however, the industry will be fueling the effects of the last 18 months of competitive pricing on their service revenue for a while longer.

轉向貝爾 CTS 財務。總營收下降 1.1%，較第三季的負 3.3% 有所改善。無線服務收入下降1.5%。我們預計，隨著 ARPU 的提高，未來下降率將會改善，但是，該行業還將在一段時間內繼續承受過去 18 個月競爭性定價對其服務收入的影響。

Internet revenue was up 3.4%, a solid result showing we're striking a balance between market growth and disciplined pricing. We also saw continued business solution strength, where revenue grew 14% over last year. This was driven by higher sales of technology services as well as acquisitions made over the past year. When excluding the impact of those acquisitions, business solutions revenue still grew a healthy 6% organically.

網路收入成長了 3.4%，這一穩健的表現表明我們在市場成長和嚴格的定價之間取得了平衡。我們也看到業務解決方案持續保持強勁成長，其營收比去年成長了 14%。這是由於過去一年技術服務銷售額的成長以及收購的推動。當排除這些收購的影響時，商業解決方案收入仍然實現了 6% 的健康有機成長。

On the product side, overall revenue was up in Q4, marked a reversal from prior quarters in 2024. This was mainly the result of higher sales of land mobile radio systems to large enterprise customers in the government sector.

產品方面，第四季整體營收有所成長，與 2024 年前幾季相比出現了逆轉。這主要是由於陸地行動無線電系統對政府部門大型企業客戶的銷售增加。

Lastly, Bell CTS EBITDA was positive, growing 0.7% to yield a strong 42.9% margin. That's an increase of 80 points over last year, driven by our continued focus on cost management as evidenced by a 2.4% decrease in operating cost per quarter.

最後，Bell CTS EBITDA 為正值，成長 0.7%，利潤率達到 42.9%。這比去年增加了 80 個百分點，這得益於我們持續注重成本管理，每季營運成本下降了 2.4%。

Over to Bell Media on slide 12. Continued digital momentum and good overall financial performance marked by a third consecutive quarter of revenue and EBITDA growth. Digital revenues were up 6%, mainly on the back of strong Crave DTC streaming growth, which drove an 18% increase in Crave subscribers to more than 3.6 million subscribers. On the strength of our digital strategy and contribution of OUTEDGE Media, total advertising revenue increased for a fourth consecutive quarter. The Bell Media team also did a great job managing operating costs, which contributed to EBITDA growth of 14.2% and a 2.3-point increase in margin to 20.3%. That does it for quarterly results.

前往幻燈片 12 上的 Bell Media。數位化發展勢頭持續強勁，整體財務表現良好，連續第三季實現營收和 EBITDA 成長。數位收入成長了 6%，主要得益於 Crave DTC 串流媒體的強勁成長，推動 Crave 用戶數量增加了 18%，達到 360 多萬人。憑藉我們的數位策略和 OUTEDGE Media 的貢獻，總廣告收入連續第四個季度實現成長。Bell Media 團隊在管理營運成本方面也做得非常出色，這有助於 EBITDA 成長 14.2%，利潤率提高 2.3 個百分點至 20.3%。這就是季度業績。

I'll now turn to our 2025 financial outlook starting with revenue and EBITDA on slide 14. Our consolidated revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2025 reflects the latest economic forecasts and industry outlooks. There also remains continued regulatory uncertainty as a result of this week's CRTC decision. The competitive pricing environment has created flowthrough revenue pressure in our Bell CTS segment for 2025. A sustained improvement in wireless and broadband internet pricing will be key in our ability to deliver positive consolidated revenue growth this year.

現在我將從第 14 張投影片上的收入和 EBITDA 開始介紹我們的 2025 年財務展望。我們對 2025 年的綜合收入和調整後 EBITDA 的預測反映了最新的經濟預測和產業前景。由於本週 CRTC 的決定，監管方面的不確定性仍然存在。競爭激烈的定價環境給我們 2025 年的貝爾 CTS 部門帶來了流動收入壓力。無線和寬頻網路價格的持續改善將是我們今年實現綜合收入成長的關鍵。

We also expect restrained enterprise customer spending on traditional network products and services and a continued market shift by wireless customers to BYOD mobile phone transactions. Additionally, we estimate a revenue loss in the range of $125 million in 2025, following a [$260 million] elimination last year due to the timing of the source store closures and transition of Best Buy Express in 2024. As this revenue is largely consumer electronics related, the impact on EBITDA will not be material given low margins for such products.

我們也預期企業客戶對傳統網路產品和服務的支出將受到限制，無線客戶將繼續轉移到 BYOD 手機交易。此外，由於源頭門市關閉的時間安排以及 2024 年百思買快店 (Best Buy Express) 的轉型，去年的收入損失為 2.6 億美元，我們預計 2025 年的收入損失將在 1.25 億美元左右。由於該收入主要與消費性電子產品有關，考慮到此類產品的利潤率較低，對 EBITDA 的影響不會很大。

While declines in legacy voice and data revenues will continue to weigh on Bell CTS EBITDA, our fiber 5G wireless and B2B solutions business continue to present attractive growth opportunities. Underpinning this expectation is our continued focus on premium mobile phone subscribers as we lean on our 5G network leadership and ongoing market expansion driven by population growth and our progress in the newcomer market, multiple device penetration gains and multi-product bundling with internet and Bell Media content.

雖然傳統語音和數據收入的下降將繼續對 Bell CTS EBITDA 造成壓力，但我們的光纖 5G 無線和 B2B 解決方案業務繼續提供具有吸引力的成長機會。這一預期的基礎是我們繼續關注高端手機用戶，因為我們依靠我們的 5G 網路領導地位和由人口增長和我們在新興市場中的進步、多設備滲透率的增長以及與互聯網和貝爾媒體內容的多產品捆綁所推動的持續市場擴張。

In our wireline B2B operations, our objective is to build on the momentum from 2024 to be the best systems integrator and managed services provider for our customers, while also leveraging our broadband fiber footprint to grow share in SMB.

在我們的有線 B2B 營運中，我們的目標是藉助 2024 年的發展勢頭，成為客戶最好的系統整合商和託管服務供應商，同時利用我們的寬頻光纖覆蓋範圍來擴大 SMB 的份額。

At Bell Media, we expect to deliver higher revenue. This reflects continued digital advertising and D2C streaming growth as well as the contribution of OUTEDGE Media, which are expected to outpace declines in traditional media and favorable retroactive subscriber revenue adjustments in 2024. We also anticipate absorbing higher year-over-year content costs.

在貝爾媒體，我們希望實現更高的收入。這反映了數位廣告和 D2C 串流媒體的持續成長以及 OUTEDGE Media 的貢獻，預計這些貢獻將在 2024 年超過傳統媒體的下滑和有利的追溯訂戶收入調整。我們也預計內容成本將年增。

Given these segment outlooks and consistent with 2024 results, we're setting our 2025 guidance growth ranges at minus 3% to positive 1% for total revenue and minus 2% to positive 2% for adjusted EBITDA. We also anticipate a higher year-over-year margin supported by further cost savings from the transformation initiatives that Mirko outlined earlier. And I will qualify that our revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance ranges are unaffected by the pending divestitures of Northwestel and exclude the favorable impact of Ziply Fiber. That acquisition is only expected to close in the second half of this year, at which time we will update our financial guidance targets as required.

鑑於這些分部前景且與 2024 年業績一致，我們將 2025 年指導成長範圍設定為總收入下降 3% 至上升 1%，調整後 EBITDA 下降 2% 至上升 2%。我們也預計，由於米爾科先前概述的轉型措施帶來的進一步成本節約，年比利潤率將有所提高。並且我要聲明，我們的收入和調整後的 EBITDA 指導範圍不受 Northwestel 即將進行的資產剝離的影響，並且不包括 Ziply Fiber 的有利影響。此次收購預計將在今年下半年完成，屆時我們將根據需要更新我們的財務指導目標。

Over to slide 15 for a summary of our adjusted EPS outlook, which we project to be 8% to 13% lower compared to 2024. This year-over-year decline can be attributed mainly to the same factors as last year, namely a year-over-year step-up in interest expense, higher depreciation, and amortization expense, consistent with ongoing, but reduced spending in our broadband networks, and lower gains on the sale of real estate related to our multiyear consolidation and conversion program. Additionally, for 2025, we're forecasting tax adjustments to be around $0.03 per share less than last year, and a higher average number of common shares outstanding because of the discounted DRPs.

第 15 頁為我們對調整後每股盈餘前景的總結，我們預期與 2024 年相比，每股盈餘將下降 8% 至 13%。這一同比下降主要歸因於與去年相同的因素，即利息支出同比增加、折舊和攤銷費用增加（與我們持續但減少的寬頻網路支出一致），以及與我們多年整合和轉換計劃相關的房地產銷售收益減少。此外，到 2025 年，我們預測稅收調整將比去年每股減少約 0.03 美元，由於 DRP 折扣，流通在外的普通股平均數量將會增加。

Turning to slide 16. Free cash flow is projected to increase by 11% to 19% in 2025. This marks a return to growth, driven by lower CapEx, and an improved working capital position, partly offset by higher interest paid. As Mirko stated, given this week's CRTC decision, we are now currently budgeting approximately $3.4 billion in CapEx for 2025, which is $500 million lower than last year. Our free cash flow outlook for 2025 also reflects stable to slightly lower cash taxes compared to last year, a relatively unchanged working capital position and cash pension funding that remains essentially unchanged as we continue to benefit from a full contribution holiday, given the strong solvency position of our defined benefit plans.

翻到第 16 張投影片。預計 2025 年自由現金流將增加 11% 至 19%。這標誌著成長的回歸，主要得益於資本支出降低和營運資本狀況改善，但部分抵消了利息支付增加的影響。正如米爾科所說，鑑於本週 CRTC 的決定，我們目前預算 2025 年的資本支出約為 34 億美元，比去年低 5 億美元。我們對 2025 年的自由現金流前景也反映出現金稅與去年相比保持穩定或略有下降，營運資金狀況相對沒有變化，現金退休金資金基本上沒有變化，因為我們繼續受益於全額繳款假期，鑑於我們固定收益計劃的強勁償付能力。

Severance payments are also anticipated to be relatively the same as 2024 at around $300 million which remains higher than run rate but given that a portion of employee departures related to the workforce restructuring initiative, we announced last February were only completed in Q4 with associated one-time payments to be made in Q1 of this year.

遣散費預計也將與 2024 年基本持平，約為 3 億美元，這仍高於運行率，但考慮到與勞動力重組計劃相關的部分員工離職，我們去年 2 月宣布的離職計劃僅在第四季度完成，相關的一次性付款將在今年第一季支付。

Turning to slide 17. I want to take a moment to drill down on our expectations for capital intensity over the next several years, both for standalone Bell and on a combined pro forma basis with Ziply Fiber included, given that CapEx is such a critical free cash flow driver. Bell's standalone CapEx spending going forward is now on a declining path given the planned slowdown of our fiber build in Canada as well as efficiencies from significant prior investments in digital transformation initiatives.

翻到第 17 張投影片。我想花點時間深入探討我們對未來幾年資本密集度的預期，包括獨立的貝爾公司和包括 Ziply Fiber 在內的綜合預測基礎，因為資本支出是如此關鍵的自由現金流驅動因素。鑑於我們計劃放緩在加拿大的光纖建設速度，以及先前對數位轉型計畫的大量投資帶來的效率，貝爾未來的獨立資本支出現在呈下降趨勢。

As a result, we can operate Bell at a very efficient capital intensity ratio of approximately 14% this year and below 14% beyond 2025. As for Ziply Fiber, they are currently accelerating their fiber build-out like Bell did back in the '21 to '23 time frame. Therefore, they will be at a peak CapEx spending over the next few years, which will increase BCE's capital intensity ratio more than on a standalone basis. Ziply Fiber's base case in footprint fiber build-out to approximately 3.3 million locations by the end of 2028 can be fully executed at a pro forma combined company, capital intensity level of around 16.5% during which time they are projected to generate double-digit EBITDA growth annually.

因此，我們今年可以以非常高效的資本密集度比率（約為 14%）運營貝爾，到 2025 年後，這一比率將低於 14%。至於 Ziply Fiber，他們目前正在加速其光纖建設，就像貝爾在 21 年至 23 年期間所做的那樣。因此，未來幾年他們的資本支出將達到頂峰，這將比單獨基礎上提高 BCE 的資本密集度比率。Ziply Fiber 的基本設想是，到 2028 年底，光纖覆蓋範圍將擴大到約 330 萬個地點，這一設想可以在合併後的公司的資本密集度約為 16.5% 的前提下全面實現，在此期間，他們預計每年將實現兩位數的 EBITDA 增長。

Turning to slide 18. We as we begin the year, we have access to $4.5 billion of liquidity, which is enhanced -- has been enhanced with a $500 million increase in our committed credit facilities to $4 billion, and a balance sheet with a sizable pension solvency surplus, totaling $3.7 billion. All this provides us with the financial flexibility to execute our business plan for 2025.

翻到第 18 張投影片。在年初，我們擁有 45 億美元的流動資金，隨著我們承諾的信貸額度增加 5 億美元至 40 億美元，我們的資產負債表上出現了可觀的退休金償付能力盈餘，總額達到 37 億美元。所有這些為我們執行 2025 年業務計劃提供了財務靈活性。

Our net debt leverage ratio at the end of 2024 was approximately 3.8 times adjusted EBITDA. Importantly, the acquisition funding for Ziply Fiber is leverage neutral and has been structured to maintain our senior debt credit ratings investment grade. We're keenly focused on reducing our leverage ratio which is projected to begin decreasing this year as we capitalize on opportunities to monetize non-core assets and use the sale proceeds to strengthen our balance sheet and optimize our cost of capital.

我們的 2024 年底淨負債槓桿比率約為調整後 EBITDA 的 3.8 倍。重要的是，Ziply Fiber 的收購融資是槓桿中立的，並且經過精心設計以維持我們的高級債務信用評級投資級。我們熱衷於降低槓桿率，預計今年槓桿率將開始下降，因為我們利用機會將非核心資產貨幣化，並利用銷售收益來加強我們的資產負債表並優化我們的資本成本。

Furthermore, all of our $2.1 billion of public debt maturities in 2025 have been largely prefinanced and the Ziply Fiber transaction is being fully funded with the net sale proceeds from MLSE together with cash generated from the discounted DRP. I'm pleased to report that the initial participation rate has been strong with a 34% enrollment rate for the Q4 common dividend payment in January, which resulted in $308 million of cash being obtained.

此外，我們 2025 年到期的 21 億美元公共債務大部分都已預先融資，而 Ziply Fiber 交易的資金完全來自 MLSE 的淨銷售收益以及折價 DRP 產生的現金。我很高興地報告，初始參與率很高，一月份第四季普通股股息支付的登記率為 34%，獲得了 3.08 億美元的現金。

To conclude on slide 11 (sic - slide 19), the financial guidance targets we are providing today for 2025 are prudent, given continued competitive pricing pressures and economic and regulatory uncertainty, as we focus on the key strategic priorities that Mirko outlined to drive future growth and undertake a proactive review of BCE's asset portfolio to unlock value. We remain confident in our proven consistent operational execution and cost discipline to deliver under any circumstances.

總結第 11 張投影片（原文如此 - 第 19 張投影片），考慮到持續的競爭性定價壓力以及經濟和監管的不確定性，我們今天為 2025 年提供的財務指導目標是審慎的，因為我們專注於 Mirko 概述的推動未來增長的關鍵戰略重點，並主動審查 BCE 的資產組合以釋放價值。我們堅信，我們經證實的一貫營運執行力和成本紀律能夠保證在任何情況下都能順利完成任務。

I will now turn the call back over to Thane and the operator to begin Q&A.

現在我將把電話轉回給 Thane 和接線員，開始問答環節。

Thanks, Curtis. So given the volume of information we presented this morning, I'm sensitive to the time we have left. So I'd ask you to please limit yourselves to one question and a brief follow-up, so that we can get to everybody in the queue.

謝謝，柯蒂斯。因此，考慮到我們今天早上所呈現的資訊量，我對剩下的時間非常敏感。因此，我請求你們將自己的提問限制在一個問題上並作一個簡短的跟進，以便我們能夠滿足排隊等候的每個人的要求。

With that, Matthew, we're ready to take our first question.

馬修，我們現在可以回答第一個問題了。

Maher Yaghi, Scotiabank.

加拿大豐業銀行的 Maher Yaghi。

Great. Thank you for taking my question. And please let me join you Mirko with thanking Thane for his help over the years. Thane, you will be greatly missed.

偉大的。感謝您回答我的問題。請容許我和 Mirko 一起感謝 Thane 多年來的幫助。塔納，我們會非常想念你的。

A quick question, Mirko, on your prepared remarks. You mentioned in the context of your US fiber footprint expansion, you mentioned the build-out structures that could include third-party capital. Can you elaborate a little bit on what that means in terms of additional CapEx or investments that BCE is expected to deploy in the US and what could be deployed by third-party capital.

米爾科，關於您準備好的發言，我有一個快速問題。您在美國光纖覆蓋範圍擴張的背景下提到，建設結構可能包括第三方資本。您能否詳細說明這意味著什麼？

And you also referred to non-core asset sales. Does that include Bell Media?

您也提到了非核心資產出售。這包括貝爾媒體嗎？

And finally, on the dividend, in your November press release, you indicated that the dividend was set until the end of '25. However, in today's press release, you indicate that the dividend could be reassessed if economic condition change. Does this mean the dividend could be changed even before the end of '25 if conditions change?

最後，關於股息，在您 11 月的新聞稿中，您表示股息將設定到 25 年底。然而，在今天的新聞稿中，您指出，如果經濟狀況發生變化，股息可能會重新評估。這是否意味著如果情況發生變化，股息甚至可能在 25 年底前發生變化？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Okay. Thank you, Maher. So let me take those.

好的。謝謝你，馬希爾。所以讓我來拿走它們。

On the -- I think it was your second question on the non-core assets at Bell Media. I think I can -- I'll go -- I'll deal with that one first because I can deal with it pretty simply. So in my prepared remarks, I did outline four core elements of our strategic roadmap to generate revenue growth and you’ll have noticed that one of them is to build a digital media and content powerhouse. So I think that answers your question right there about Bell Media and particularly the digital pivot is a key strategic growth vector for us, and I think that's the best way to answer that question.

關於－我認為這是你關於貝爾媒體非核心資產的第二個問題。我想我可以 - 我會去 - 我會先處理那個，因為我可以很簡單地處理它。因此，在我準備好的發言中，我確實概述了我們實現收入成長的策略路線圖的四個核心要素，你們會注意到其中之一就是打造一個數位媒體和內容巨頭。所以我認為這回答了你關於貝爾媒體的問題，特別是數位轉型對我們來說是一個關鍵的策略成長方向，我認為這是回答這個問題的最佳方式。

On the US fiber build, I think the best way to answer that right now is just to reiterate that our priority now is to close the acquisition of Ziply Fiber. And as I've mentioned several times, I think that transaction is going to move capital to an asset that's going to drive significant growth in our core fiber business, which is, again, best networks and fiber-first companies, one of our key strategic growth vectors. And we're going to do that in a leverage-neutral manner. I want to emphasize that again.

關於美國光纖建設，我認為現在回答這個問題的最佳方法是重申我們現在的首要任務是完成對 Ziply Fiber 的收購。正如我多次提到的，我認為這筆交易將把資本轉移到一項資產上，這將推動我們的核心光纖業務大幅成長，這又是最佳網路和光纖優先公司，也是我們的關鍵策略成長載體之一。我們將以槓桿中性的方式來實現這一點。我想再次強調這一點。

And beyond -- think beyond repeating what I said in my remarks, I did say that we'd review other potential opportunities to grow the Ziply Fiber footprint. But with build-out structure that will bring third-party capital to invest alongside us to reduce our funding requirements. I won't give specifics to the extent of what that might look like other than I think what's important to note, which I did not say in the opening remarks is that we have received a number of inbound calls asking us if we'd be interested in doing that.

除此之外——除了重複我在演講中說過的話之外，我確實說過，我們會審查其他潛在機會來擴大 Ziply Fiber 的影響力。但透過建設結構，可以引入第三方資本與我們一起投資，以減少我們的資金需求。我不會具體說明具體情況，但我認為需要注意的是，我在開場白中沒有提到的是，我們接到了很多電話，詢問我們是否有興趣這樣做。

And to me, I mean, that's quite interesting, right? First of all, it speaks to the value and the attractiveness of the Ziply Fiber asset and the potential for growth in the US, and it also speaks to the desire of third parties to work with Bell in particular, and it speaks to our expertise in fiber. So I'll leave it at that.

對我來說，這很有趣，對吧？首先，它體現了 Ziply Fiber 資產的價值和吸引力以及在美國的成長潛力，也體現了第三方與貝爾合作的願望，也體現了我們在光纖方面的專業知識。所以我不再談論這個了。

On dividend, I guess I'd say that what we're going to do here on capital allocation is balance long-term investment to generate growth. And you asked me two questions already about that. But at the same time, we're going to strengthen the balance sheet and optimize the cost of capital, and that's how we're going to return value to our shareholders. And as I said in the opening remarks, the dividend payout ratio is elevated right now. It's outside our policy range, don't like where the share price is at. And so the dividend and the dividend policy will continue to be reviewed by the BCE Board, and as we do that, we'll take into consideration, like I said, the competitive environment, the macroeconomic environment, the regulatory environment, and the progress we're making on the various strategic and operational initiatives that I outlined.

關於股息，我想說我們在資本配置方面要做的就是平衡長期投資以促進成長。您已經就此問了我兩個問題。但同時，我們將加強資產負債表並優化資本成本，這就是我們為股東帶來回報的方式。正如我在開場白中所說，目前的股息支付率已經很高。這超出了我們的政策範圍，我們不喜歡現在的股價。因此，股利和股利政策將繼續接受 BCE 董事會的審查，在審查過程中，我們會考慮競爭環境、宏觀經濟環境、監管環境以及我在概述的各種策略和營運措施方面取得的進展。

So you wrap those three questions together, Maher, I'd say the message to take away from me is we're going to continue to execute in the market along the four or five core vectors that I outlined. We're going to focus on our investment-grade rating. We're going to de-lever, and we're going to optimize the cost of capital.

所以，馬希爾，把這三個問題放在一起，我想說的是，我們將繼續按照我所概述的四個或五個核心向量在市場上執行。我們將重點關注我們的投資等級評級。我們將降低槓桿率，並優化資本成本。

Drew McReynolds, RBC Capital Markets.

加拿大皇家銀行資本市場 (RBC Capital Markets) 的德魯‧麥克雷諾茲 (Drew McReynolds

Maybe I'll just also echo congrats, Thane, and then we'll definitely miss you.

也許我也會再次表示祝賀，Thane，然後我們肯定會想念你。

So first question, just on leverage. You ended the year at 3.8 times. And, Mirko, in your prepared remarks, obviously pretty extensive blueprint that you outlined. Just to give you additional financial flexibility, like, where would you like to see leverage by the end of 2025 and beyond 2025? What does that pace and timeline look like? And related to that, can you talk to your expectation of closing additional non-core assets or some of the infrastructure options you may have in 2025, and then I'll have a follow-up after that.

第一個問題是關於槓桿。今年你們的成績是 3.8 倍。米爾科，在您準備好的發言中，您顯然概述了相當廣泛的藍圖。只是為了給您額外的財務彈性，例如，您希望在 2025 年底及 2025 年以後看到槓桿率達到什麼水準？那個節奏和時間表是什麼樣的？與此相關，您能否談談對在 2025 年完成其他非核心資產或一些基礎設施選擇的預期，然後我將進行跟進。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Hi, Drew, thanks for the question. It's Curtis. So I'd say we're focused on maintaining our strong investment grade credit rating, and we are focused on reducing our net leverage ratio, as you say. So continued focus on driving free cash flow growth, the asset review process, as Mirko mentioned, it's resulted, as has already been publicly announced, our divestitures of MLSE and Northwestel, and there are a number of other incremental initiatives on the go, each of which would actually help strengthen our balance sheet and optimize cost of capital and reduce leverage. Don't have more details in terms of those initiatives when they're ready to be announced, we will do so. And of course, we'll keep everyone informed on a transparent manner as we progress.

你好，德魯，謝謝你的提問。是柯蒂斯。因此我想說，我們專注於維持強勁的投資等級信用評級，並專注於降低淨槓桿率，正如您所說。因此，我們繼續專注於推動自由現金流成長，資產審查流程，正如米爾科提到的那樣，其結果是，正如已經公開宣布的那樣，我們剝離了 MLSE 和 Northwestel，並且還有許多其他漸進式舉措正在進行中，每一項舉措實際上都會幫助我們加強資產負債表，優化資本成本，降低槓桿率。當這些舉措準備公佈時，我們不會透露更多細節，但我們會公佈。當然，我們會以透明的方式向大家通報進度。

Okay. And a follow-up then on just the revenue growth guidance range negative 3% to plus 1%. I think I caught Curtis in your remarks, the plus 1% depends on a constructive competitive environment. But more broadly, you've called out macro regulatory and competitive. On the macro and regulatory side, first on the macro, obviously, a fairly tariff -- potential tariff situation for Canada to be determined just what was your assumption in and around that?

好的。後續收入成長預期範圍為-3%至+1%。我想我理解了柯蒂斯的評論，即正 1% 的成長率取決於建設性的競爭環境。但更廣泛地說，你呼籲宏觀監管和競爭。在宏觀和監管方面，首先在宏觀方面，顯然，公平的關稅——加拿大的潛在關稅情況有待確定，您對此有何假設？

And then secondly, on the regulatory side, is it really -- and I don't want to be able to adjust the TPIA ultimate framework with (inaudible) restrictions or that treatment that's still pending. That's really an issue with respect to that revenue growth guidance range. So said it a different way, we get decent outcomes on macro, decent outcomes on regulatory, decent outcomes on competitive, are you comfortable in getting a flat to plus 1% as opposed to the bottom end of the range?

其次，在監管方面，這真的是——我不希望能夠透過（聽不清楚）限製或仍待解決的待遇來調整 TPIA 最終框架。這確實是與收入成長指導範圍相關的問題。換句話說，我們在宏觀方面取得了不錯的成果，在監管方面取得了不錯的成果，在競爭方面取得了不錯的成果，您是否願意獲得持平至正 1% 的收益，而不是範圍的底端？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yeah, thanks for the question, Drew.

是的，謝謝你的提問，德魯。

And look, I think on the tariff side of the world, it's a little early to know what the actual impact would be. As of this date, there are no tariffs, so we'll obviously be looking at that closely. Shouldn't be a material impact, but again, let's wait for details and see how that plays out. In terms of regulatory, similar question. I mean, it's the status quo at this point, and unfortunately the CRTC pushed the decision down the line. We don't think it's conducive to driving innovation and investment in Canada, especially in our networks, but again, we'll have to wait for a final decision.

我認為，就關稅方面而言，現在判斷其實際影響還為時過早。截至目前，還沒有關稅，所以我們顯然會密切關注這一點。不應該產生實質影響，但是，讓我們再次等待詳細信息，看看結果如何。在監管方面，也有類似的問題。我的意思是，這就是目前的現狀，不幸的是，CRTC 推遲了這項決定。我們認為這不利於推動加拿大的創新和投資，尤其是在我們的網路中，但我們必須等待最終的決定。

And then ultimately, as you know and as the market knows, I mean revenue growth is dependent on pricing in market and right now it's a very competitive pricing environment. We've seen certain green shoots and improvements in certain areas over the last few weeks. But again, it's a matter of how long those pricing increases will be sustained.

最終，如您和市場所知，收入成長取決於市場定價，而目前的定價環境競爭非常激烈。過去幾週，我們在某些​​領域看到了一些復甦跡象和改善。但問題還是在於價格上漲將持續多久。

I'd add -- it’s Mirko, I'd add on the regulatory front, quite to put it bluntly, we're not in the business of building fiber for TELUS’s benefit. And that's what the CRTC policy that's in place right now forces us to do. So to us, it makes no sense that the CRTC is forcing incumbent resale at a time, if you combine your two questions together, Drew, at this particular point in time, when Canadian productivity is already lagging and we're having conversations about how to boost the Canadian economy and boost productivity, I don't understand why a regulator would put in place policies that create disincentives to investment, puts jobs at risk, and puts at risk the building out of critical infrastructure. It seems like the wrong policy at exactly the wrong time. And we all know that our world leading, and I say Canada here, our world leading communications infrastructure was built on long-standing facilities-based competition policy that served this country very well for years and years.

我想補充一點——米爾科，我想補充一下監管方面，坦白說，我們建造光纖並不是為了 TELUS 的利益。這就是現行的 CRTC 政策迫使我們做的事情。因此對我們來說，CRTC 強迫現有企業轉售是沒有意義的，如果你把你的兩個問題放在一起，德魯，在這個特定的時間點，當加拿大的生產力已經落後並且我們正在討論如何促進加拿大經濟和提高生產力時，我不明白為什麼監管機構會制定不利於投資、危及就業和危及關鍵基礎設施建設的政策。這似乎是在錯誤的時間出台的錯誤政策。我們都知道，我們世界領先的，我在這裡指的是加拿大，我們世界領先的通訊基礎設施是建立在長期的以設施為基礎的競爭政策之上的，這一政策多年來為這個國家提供了良好的服務。

Sebastiano Petti, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的塞巴斯蒂亞諾·佩蒂。

Also echo congratulations to Thane, you will be missed.

也向 Thane 表示祝賀，我們會想念你的。

In terms of -- just maybe a couple of quick follow-ups here, I think on the topic of the following up on Drew's question there about just the macro outlook. I think, Curtis, in your prepared remarks, you did talk about maybe a little bit of decision-making or implied essentially enterprise spend. But I mean, have your conversations with large enterprises, SMBs, advertisers, demonstrably changed over the last few months or is there just more predictability or uncertainty baked into the guidance as we think about the macro outlook and just echoing on Mirko's remarks just now as well?

就——這裡可能只是幾個快速的後續問題，我認為是關於德魯關於宏觀前景的問題的後續問題。柯蒂斯，我認為，在你準備好的發言中，你確實談到了一點決策或暗示的企業支出。但我的意思是，您與大型企業、中小型企業、廣告商的對話在過去幾個月中是否發生了明顯變化，或者當我們考慮宏觀前景時，指導中是否包含更多的可預測性或不確定性，並且只是呼應了米爾科剛才的言論？

And then another follow-up, perhaps to your US fiber strategy, just on convergence and partnerships, obviously bundling is core to the Canadian telecom ecosystem and a very big and emerging theme here in the US, an area of debate for the big three wireless operators. So I mean, as the wireless incumbents push harder on fiber and bundling in the coming years, I mean, do you see the need to inevitably partner with a wireless operator or maybe stand up an MVNO to successfully compete in the rapidly converging market in the US? Just given Ziply's relative scale to some of the other announcements we've seen in the US market from Telcos.

然後是另一個後續問題，也許是您的美國光纖戰略，僅關於融合和合作夥伴關係，顯然捆綁是加拿大電信生態系統的核心，也是美國一個非常重要且新興的主題，也是三大無線運營商爭論的領域。所以我的意思是，隨著無線運營商在未來幾年加大對光纖和捆綁的推動，您是否認為有必要與無線運營商合作或建立 MVNO 以在快速融合的美國市場中成功競爭？鑑於 Ziply 的規模與我們在美國市場看到的電信公司發布的其他一些公告相比有所差異。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. It's Mirko. I'll take the second one first. The structure, as you know, is different in the US, the industry structure, than it is in Canada, certainly at this point in time. And then I would point out, really important to point out, in the Pacific Northwest, it's a highly attractive, high growth market. And Ziply Fiber’s footprint is basically either Ziply with its fiber or one cable company. So Ziply Fiber and its footprint isn't competing with integrated providers.

謝謝。是米爾科。我先選擇第二個。如您所知，美國的產業結構與加拿大目前有所不同。然後我想指出的是，真正重要的是，太平洋西北地區是一個極具吸引力、高成長的市場。Ziply Fiber 的覆蓋範圍基本上是 Ziply 及其光纖或一家有線電視公司。因此，Ziply Fiber 及其足跡不會與綜合供應商競爭。

And without the wireless offering at this point in time, the management team there has executed extremely well and continues to take see quite significant and impressive subscriber growth, revenue growth, and EBITDA growth, and we expect that to continue especially as we proceed on its build-out plans in its current incumbent footprint.

儘管目前沒有無線服務，但那裡的管理團隊表現非常出色，並繼續看到相當顯著和令人印象深刻的用戶增長、收入增長和 EBITDA 增長，我們預計這種情況將持續下去，特別是當我們在現有業務範圍內推進其建設計劃時。

On the macro side of things, I think the best way to address the larger macro question, Sebastiano, is can I link it back to the pillars of growth that I outlined? If you think about our best networks proposition and what we've delivered and what we continue to think we're going to deliver. We continue to take the majority of internet net ad growth in the market and we expect that to continue in 2025. The percentage of customers we have on the higher speeds is impressive and we can expect that to continue.

從宏觀角度來看，塞巴斯蒂亞諾，我認為解決更大的宏觀問題的最佳方式是，我能否將其與我所概述的成長支柱聯繫起來？如果你考慮我們最好的網路主張以及我們已經提供的內容以及我們繼續認為我們將要提供的內容。我們繼續佔據市場上網路網路廣告成長的大部分份額，預計這一趨勢將持續到 2025 年。我們擁有的較高速度的客戶比例令人印象深刻，我們預計這種情況將持續下去。

Our multi-product penetration in Canada is continuing at pace. And you see that in our results and in our internet revenue growth results. And our wireless loadings are all on the premium Bell brand, which is something that we focus on all the time. So while the market isn't growing as fast in internet or wireless as it had before, it's still growing and we're going to execute on these things as we have in the past.

我們的多種產品在加拿大的滲透仍在持續。您可以從我們的業績和網路收入成長結果中看到這一點。我們的無線負載全部採用高階貝爾品牌，這也是我們一直關注的重點。因此，雖然互聯網或無線市場的成長速度不如以前快，但它仍在成長，我們將像過去一樣執行這些任務。

Again, to macro, go back to now media and digital media in particular, that's continuing, the pivot to digital is continuing at pace and we expect that to continue quite strongly. On business, whether or not it's small, medium or large, the big focus on business solutions, we got to be mindful of what the macro environment will bring to budgets of our enterprise customers, but our business solutions revenue is going to continue to grow. And of course, we've got to manage the overall environment, so cost will continue to be front and center.

再次，從宏觀角度來看，回到現在的媒體，特別是數位媒體，這種情況仍在繼續，數位轉型正在快速進行，我們預計這種情況將持續強勁。在業務方面，無論規模大小，我們都會專注於業務解決方案，我們必須注意宏觀環境將為企業客戶的預算帶來什麼，但我們的業務解決方案收入將繼續成長。當然，我們必須管理整體環境，因此成本仍將是首要考慮因素。

So all these things are going really well. Now pricing, Curtis mentioned green shoots on market pricing, both on broadband and wireless. So hopefully the green shoots that we're seeing in the early days of 2025 sustain themselves through the entire year. I would hope so, particularly when you think about the tremendous value that the industry provides to consumers and enterprises, and particularly Bell but those new pricing levels really do need to stick.

所有這些事情都進展得很順利。現在談到定價，柯蒂斯提到了寬頻和無線市場定價的復甦跡象。因此，希望我們在 2025 年初看到的綠芽能持續全年。我希望如此，特別是當你考慮到該行業為消費者和企業提供的巨大價值，特別是貝爾，但那些新的定價水平確實需要堅持。

Vince Valentini, TD Securities.

文斯·瓦倫蒂尼（Vince Valentini），道明證券。

Lots of good stuff here and lots to unpack. First up, Thane, yes, all the best to you. At the risk of offending others I've dealt with over the years, you're definitely the best IR person I've ever dealt with in my 30 years, so you'll be sorely missed, but all the best to you in retirement.

這裡有很多好東西，也有很多東西要打開。首先，Thane，是的，祝你一切順利。儘管可能會冒犯多年來與我打過交道的其他人，但你絕對是我 30 年來打過交道的最好的 IR 人員，因此我們會非常想念你，但祝你退休後一切順利。

If I can just try to clarify that the revenue guidance first, Curtis, it sounds to me like you're saying the higher end is possible if recent pricing changes are sustained. I just want to make sure that's the case as opposed to are you saying we need even more than everything that's been announced in January in terms of broadband price increases by almost everybody and wireless price increases. If we just see those stick, does that enough to get you towards the higher end or do you need even more?

柯蒂斯，如果我可以先嘗試澄清收入預期，在我看來，你的意思是，如果最近的價格變化持續下去，更高的收入水平是可能的。我只是想確保情況確實如此，而不是你說我們需要的甚至比一月份宣布的幾乎所有措施（例如寬頻價格上漲和無線價格上漲）還要多。如果我們只是看到這些堅持，這足以讓你走向更高的目標嗎，還是你需要更多？

And I have -- I'll throw the other question in now to make sure, Thane doesn't cut me off. On the $7 billion target, I just want to unpack and make sure we understand that properly. You've already announced $5.7 billion of the $7 billion between MLSE and Northwestel, so that leaves $1.3 billion only as new stuff you're working on for this year. Is that the way to think of that $7 billion target?

我已經——我現在要提出另一個問題，以確保 Thane 不會打斷我。關於 70 億美元的目標，我只是想解釋一下並確保我們正確理解這一點。您已經宣布了 MLSE 和 Northwestel 之間 70 億美元交易中的 57 億美元，因此剩下的 13 億美元只是您今年正在進行的新項目。這就是 70 億美元目標的想法嗎？

And can you clarify this? Is this stuff of pure selling stuff that's non-core and you don't need? Or is it -- are you thinking these are potentially sale and leaseback transactions or transactions with EBITDA implications? Like, is it really just a full net $1.3 billion of cash to pay down debt or is there potential offsets based on some of the transactions you've been looking at?

您能澄清一下嗎？這是純粹銷售非核心且你不需要的東西嗎？或者是—您認為這些是潛在的售後回租交易或具有 EBITDA 影響的交易？例如，它真的只是一筆完整的 13 億美元的淨現金來償還債務嗎，還是根據您所關注的一些交易，存在潛在的抵消額？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yeah. Hi, Vince, it's Curtis, thanks for the questions. I'll take the second question first.

是的。你好，文斯，我是柯蒂斯，謝謝你的提問。我先回答第二個問題。

So you're right, that's the math. It's $1.3-implied-billion of other asset sales, and I would characterize them as non-core. This is not meant to be sale leasebacks that would have a capital lease component after the fact. Again, there might be some EBITDA sales, but all of this would be EBITDA sold as part of that, but these would all be de-leveraging transactions and strengthening the balance sheet. So you're thinking about it the right way.

所以你是對的，這就是數學。這是隱含的 13 億美元其他資產銷售，我將其定性為非核心資產。這並不意味著售後回租會有事後的資本租賃部分。同樣，可能會有一些 EBITDA 銷售，但所有這些都將是作為其中一部分出售的 EBITDA，但這些都是去槓桿交易並加強資產負債表。所以你的想法是正確的。

And in terms of the first question, in and around revenue and ability to hit the high end, obviously there are many factors that flow into our revenue performance. High pricing -- higher pricing in market, and if this pricing increase that we've seen over the last few weeks sticks that certainly helps. I mean if it would go up a little more it'll help even more. So I think it's too early to pinpoint one specific variable but certainly pricing in market is a key driver.

關於第一個問題，圍繞著收入和達到高端的能力，顯然有許多因素影響我們的收入表現。高定價——市場定價更高，如果我們在過去幾週看到的這種價格上漲持續下去，那肯定會有所幫助。我的意思是如果它再漲一點，它會更有幫助。因此，我認為現在確定一個具體的變數還為時過早，但市場定價肯定是一個關鍵驅動因素。

Aravinda Galappatthige, Canaccord Genuity.

Aravinda Galappatthige，Canaccord Genuity。

Let me start by offering my best wishes to Thane. You've been a great source of support and integrity during my time covering Bell.

首先，我要向 Thane 表達我最良好的祝愿。在我報道貝爾期間，您一直是我巨大的支持和誠信來源。

Two question -- one clarification from me. First of all, Mirko, you indicated in your comments that with respect to the US fiber expansion, you're open to third-party investments. Could you say that you would go so far as maybe having a separate entity operating that that may not be controlled by Bell or may not be consolidated by Bell with the view to keeping that off balance sheet? I realize that's a bit of a speculative question but just wanted general thoughts on that.

兩個問題 — — 我來澄清一個。首先，米爾科，您在評論中表示，就美國光纖擴張而言，您願意接受第三方投資。您是否會說，您可能會設立一個獨立運營的實體，該實體可能不受貝爾控制，也可能不會被貝爾合併，以便將其排除在資產負債表之外？我意識到這是一個有點推測性的問題，但我只是想對此有一些一般性的想法。

And then secondly, with respect to your internet revenue growth, the 3.3%, we've seen that number ebb and flow between low single-digits and mid. I mean, is it fair to say that going forward, it's really price increases that help keep that in the mid-single-digit range given the competitive dynamics in terms of subscriber share?

其次，關於您的網路收入成長率 3.3%，我們看到這個數字在低個位數和中等數字之間波動。我的意思是，考慮到用戶份額的競爭態勢，是否可以說，未來真的是價格上漲有助於將這一比例保持在中等個位數範圍內？

Thanks.

謝謝。

On the second question on the internet revenue growth, yes, pricing would be the key lever there particularly as you -- since you consider that we're continuing to take the majority of net ad growth. So that's going to continue and therefore pricing becomes the key lever. And on the first question with respect to potential structures in the US, I think the most I can say right now is, again, we'd be looking at potential opportunities to grow the fiber footprint, but only with build-out structures that would reduce -- effectively reduce our funding requirements.

關於網路收入成長的第二個問題，是的，定價將是關鍵槓桿，特別是因為您認為我們將繼續佔據淨廣告成長的大部分份額。這種情況將會持續下去，因此定價將成為關鍵槓桿。關於第一個問題，關於美國的潛在結構，我認為我現在最多能說的是，我們會再次尋找擴大光纖覆蓋範圍的潛在機會，但只有透過能夠有效減少我們的資金需求的建設結構。

And the most direct way to answer your question at this point in time is that as we think that through, we're going to remain focused on maintaining our investment grade ratings for senior debt, which is again one of the key things that I've made sure to emphasize more than once in our time together this morning, executing the market to drive revenue growth, focus on that investment grade rating, de-lever, which Curtis again emphasized in response to Vince and optimize the cost of capital.

此時回答您問題最直接的方式是，當我們仔細考慮這個問題時，我們將繼續專注於維持優先債務的投資級評級，這也是我今天上午多次強調的關鍵事項之一，執行市場以推動收入增長，專注於投資級評級，去槓桿，這是柯蒂斯在回答文斯時再次強調的，並優化資本成本。

Jerome Dubreuil, Desjardins Securities.

德斯雅爾丹證券公司的傑羅姆‧杜布雷伊 (Jerome Dubreuil) 。

Two on CapEx. Maybe you want to clarify the comments made on the decision with regards to the CRTC earlier this week. You said the reduction is related to the CRTC decision this week, but at the same time, basically they're just punting the decision later this year. So do you intend to increase CapEx again this year if the CRTC blocks incumbent resale of fiber? So that is question number one.

兩項涉及資本支出。也許您想澄清本週早些時候針對 CRTC 的決定所發表的評論。您說削減費用與本週 CRTC 的決定有關，但實際上他們只是推遲在今年稍後做出決定。那麼，如果 CRTC 阻止現有的光纖轉售，您是否打算今年再次增加資本支出？這是第一個問題。

And question number two is a bit more of a long-term CapEx neutral level. At the AT&T Investor Day, we saw them announce a way to get rid of expensive copper through more usage of fixed wireless, where there's no business case for fiber. Is this something that you would consider and that would have regulatory support in Canada and maybe if you can talk about the potential savings that this could bring longer term, just trying to figure out if there's ways to reduce CapEx further even if fiber builds come to a halt.

第二個問題則更多涉及長期資本支出中性水準。在 AT&T 投資者日上，我們看到他們宣布了一種透過更多地使用固定無線來擺脫昂貴銅線的方法，而光纖在市場上沒有優勢。這是您會考慮的事情嗎？ 這會得到加拿大的監管支持嗎？

Thanks.

謝謝。

So on the first, I’ll let Curtis -- will answer the second one, Jerome.

因此，關於第一個問題，我將讓柯蒂斯——傑羅姆來回答第二個問題。

On the first question, our CapEx guidance is set for the year as we outlined this morning and really as it relates to the regulatory decision and where it ultimately ends up later on in the year, it's going to dictate how we allocate the capital within the guidance range, if you know what I mean. So we're going to have our CapEx budget and where we make the investments throughout the year and into the following years will, in a significant way, be guided by that decision.

關於第一個問題，正如我們今天早上概述的那樣，我們的資本支出指導是為今年設定的，實際上，它與監管決定有關，並且最終會在年內結束，它將決定我們如何在指導範圍內分配資本，如果你明白我的意思。因此，我們將制定資本支出預算，而全年及接下來幾年的投資方向將在很大程度上受該決定的指導。

So that's how I would answer the question. So we can pull back on fiber build or we can increase fiber build, but that will remain within the intensity ratio that we've guided. But what I do know given this week's decision is that right now it doesn't look like we'll be hitting the 8.3 million target homes that we had outlined over a year ago.

這就是我回答這個問題的方式。因此，我們可以減少纖維構建或增加纖維構建，但這仍將保持在我們指導的強度比範圍內。但根據本週的決定，我確實知道的是，現在看來我們似乎無法達到一年前提出的 830 萬套目標。

And over to this -- for the second question, over to Curtis.

第二個問題交給柯蒂斯。

Yeah, and the second question, Jerome, it's a good one. Not as much clarity in the near term. I'd say long term, we're in alignment with you in terms of -- there's just an overall benefit to reduce legacy technologies and legacy networks. Obviously, the path there is dependent on regulatory, so it's not complete within our hands. We do see in the US a little bit more willingness to retire legacy networks and convert to newer technologies. Hopefully that's the case up here. I do think there would be significant efficiencies in terms of maintenance costs as well as frankly our ability to sell copper and real estate of COs, et cetera. So I think it’s -- I think you're directionally right. It's difficult at this point to know timeline or scale but certainly eventually a win for us all.

是的，第二個問題，傑羅姆，這是一個很好的問題。短期內情況不會那麼明朗。我想說，從長遠來看，我們的觀點與你一致——減少遺留技術和遺留網路總體上是有好處的。顯然，這條道路依賴監管，因此我們還無法完全掌控。我們確實看到美國更願意淘汰傳統網路並轉向新技術。希望這裡的情況也是如此。我確實認為在維護成本方面以及坦率地說我們出售銅和 CO 房地產的能力等方面都會有顯著的效率。所以我認為——我認為你的方向是正確的。目前很難知道時間表或規模，但最終我們所有人都會獲得勝利。

Thanks, and congrats, Thane, as well.

謝謝，也恭喜 Thane。

David Barden, Bank of America.

美國銀行的戴維·巴登（David Barden）。

I feel like it's a privilege to be part of the last time that we all have an opportunity to adore Thane. Admonition to have one question and one follow-up, but thank you for everything, Thane.

我感到很榮幸能參與我們最後一次崇拜 Thane 的機會。勸告有一個問題和一個後續問題，但還是感謝你所做的一切，Thane。

Mirko, so I wonder if you could elaborate a little bit because your statement about not -- choosing not to hit your original fiber investment goal because of the regulatory environment and this is a little bit of an escalation from last year's commentary, is basically saying that the Canadian fiber broadband business is un-investable and that you'd rather invest in the US. And if the CRTC continues going down this path, bad things will happen.

米爾科，我想知道您是否可以詳細說明一下，因為您之前說過，由於監管環境的原因，您選擇不實現最初的光纖投資目標，這比去年的評論略有升級，這基本上是在說加拿大光纖寬頻業務不可投資，您寧願投資美國。如果 CRTC 繼續沿著這條路走下去，那麼糟糕的事情就會發生。

We haven't had a conversation about what those bad things look like. What does -- what do you fear happening if TELUS does come in to resell your fiber and what opportunities do you have to perhaps resell fiber in other markets for the future? I'd like to hear that, like that scenario that is so dire that it's changing your whole outlook about the capital investment opportunity that you could see in the Canadian market.

我們還沒有討論過這些壞事是什麼樣子的。如果 TELUS 確實來轉售您的光纖，您擔心會發生什麼事？我想聽到這樣的情況，這種情況非常可怕，它正在改變你對加拿大市場資本投資機會的整個看法。

And my follow-up question would be just specifically towers. Is towers a non-core asset and are towers a thing that you think about monetizing as you address the balance sheet?

我的後續問題具體是關於塔的問題。塔是否屬於非核心資產？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Okay, so on your second question, I guess I'll just reiterate what I said in my opening remarks which is there's a significant amount of untapped value in our telecom infrastructure. So we're looking at ways that we could surface value there. And that's why I pointed out that we've retained financial advisors to retain -- to assist us in that regard. But however we do that, that wouldn't be part of the $7 billion that I outlined and that Curtis reiterated when he was responding to Vince's question.

好的，關於你的第二個問題，我想我只想重申我在開場白中所說的話，那就是我們的電信基礎設施中存在大量未開發的價值。因此，我們正在尋找能夠在那裡實現價值的方法。這就是為什麼我指出我們聘請了財務顧問來協助我們解決這個問題。但無論我們如何做，這都不會成為我所說的 70 億美元的一部分，而且柯蒂斯在回答文斯的問題時也重申了這一點。

On your first point, I think what I'm really trying to convey is the following. I mean, it's pretty clear that the most sustainable form of competition is through companies who build their own infrastructure. So we would always rather compete on the basis of networks we own. So I think that's the simplest way to get at a couple of points that you were making in your first question. We want to build, we want to compete against other well-capitalized companies that build their own, and we're prepared to do that here obviously in Canada and we're prepared to seize on the growth opportunities in the US.

關於你的第一點，我認為我真正想要表達的是以下內容。我的意思是，很明顯最可持續的競爭形式是透過公司建立自己的基礎設施。因此，我們始終傾向於在我們擁有的網路基礎上進行競爭。所以我認為這是理解你在第一個問題中提出的幾個觀點的最簡單的方法。我們想要建設，我們想要與其他擁有雄厚資本並自己建設的公司競爭，我們顯然準備在加拿大做到這一點，我們也準備好抓住美國的成長機會。

So what happens going forward? I didn't say that we would stop entirely building in Canada. What I said is that we're not going to hit the 8.3 billion, so there's going to be a significant slowdown in the pace of build. In greenfields, as new housing continues to be built, of course we'll be looking at the opportunities so long as we can generate the appropriate return to build infrastructure to new greenfield areas. But again, that means that a much, much slower pace of build in Canada than otherwise could have been the case and it really comes down to where is the best use of the next incremental dollar of capital and fiber, that's what we're always going to be looking at. And now we're going to be able to look at it from a broader footprint area.

那麼未來會發生什麼事？我並不是說我們將完全停止在加拿大的建設。我說過，我們不會達到83億的目標，所以建設速度將會明顯放緩。在綠地方面，隨著新房屋的不斷建設，我們當然會尋找機會，只要我們能夠產生適當的回報來在新的綠地區域建造基礎設施。但同樣，這意味著加拿大的建設速度會比其他情況下慢得多，而這實際上取決於如何最好地利用下一增量資本和光纖，這也是我們一直關注的問題。現在我們可以從更廣泛的覆蓋範圍來看待它。

Brownfield in Canada where we have legacy copper versus greenfield in Canada versus Pacific Northwest, the fact that we're having this conversation actually speaks to how inappropriate that CRTC decision was. And I know there's going to be a final ruling later in the year. And that's all well and good, except that cabinet had clearly asked the CRTC to make a ruling by this week, and they didn't.

加拿大的棕地（那裡有傳統銅礦）與加拿大和太平洋西北地區的綠地（那裡的銅礦）相比，我們進行這次對話的事實實際上說明了 CRTC 的決定是多麼不恰當。我知道今年稍後將會做出最終裁決。這一切都很好，只是內閣已明確要求 CRTC 在本週之前做出裁決，但他們沒有這樣做。

Patrick Ho, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的 Patrick Ho。

Also want to echo my congrats to Thane. Thanks for all the help over the last few years.

也想向 Thane 表示祝賀。感謝您過去幾年來的所有幫助。

Just a couple of questions for me. Firstly, on the DRP program, when exactly are you looking to turn this off? And are you guys targeting a specific payout ratio or leverage level or simply the closing of Ziply in order to decide to turn it off?

我只想問幾個問題。首先，關於 DRP 程序，您究竟想何時關閉它？你們的目標是特定的支付率或槓桿水平嗎？

And then I guess secondly, just wanted to ask about your current back book as it relates to wireless. How much of this has been repriced to reflect the current pricing environment right now?

其次，我只想問一下您目前的書籍與無線相關的內容。其中有多少已重新定價以反映當前的定價環境？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Patrick. It's Curtis. I'll address the first one.

謝謝，派崔克。是柯蒂斯。我先談第一個問題。

So look, as Mirko said a few times here, our intention is always to optimize cost of capital. So we recognize that issuing equity at these levels is expensive. So the DRP is not something we intend to keep in place long term. There's not a specific date I can give you but ultimately the balance sheet actions and benefits that we've talked about throughout this this call, prepared remarks and Q&A that we've outlined, obviously that's going to accelerate the turning off of that DRP.

所以，正如米爾科在這裡多次說過的那樣，我們的目的始終是優化資本成本。因此我們認識到以這些水平發行股票的成本是昂貴的。因此，我們並不打算長期保留 DRP。我無法給您一個具體的日期，但最終我們在整個電話會議中討論的資產負債表行動和收益，以及我們概述的準備好的評論和問答，顯然將加速關閉 DRP。

And in terms of the back book, our key priority is to get churned down. So customers that are with us, we want to have them stay with us. That's how I'd answer the back book.

就後續書籍而言，我們的首要任務是減少庫存。因此，我們希望與我們的客戶繼續合作。這就是我回答後面這本書的方式。

Thank you. There are no further questions registered at this time. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Mr. Fotopoulos.

謝謝。目前還沒有其他問題。現在我想將會議交給福托普洛斯先生。

Thank you, Matthew.

謝謝你，馬修。

So I just want to take a quick second to say thank you to Mirko for his kind words and to all the analysts who have reached out to me in the past few months with their good wishes. And you've challenged me as has the investment community. And I've been very privileged and honored to have been part of such a great company for the past 20 years and the industry for the past 27, well over 110 quarters. It's been an honor to be part of such an amazing company.

因此，我只想花一點時間向米爾科的善意言辭表示感謝，並向過去幾個月向我表達良好祝愿的所有分析師表示感謝。你們和投資界都對我提出了挑戰。我很榮幸能夠在過去的 20 年裡成為這樣一家偉大公司的一員，並在過去的 27 年（超過 110 個季度）為這個行業做出貢獻。我很榮幸能夠成為這樣一家出色的公司的一員。

I've witnessed the transformation of Bell from what it was to what it is now, and the best is yet to come, and we have the best team and leaders in place to do that, to take Bell to the next level. And I'll be watching from the sidelines very keenly. And thank you to, everybody, and I wish everybody the best.

我見證了貝爾從過去到現在的轉變，而最好的還在後頭，我們擁有最好的團隊和領導者來實現這一目標，將貝爾提升到一個新的水平。我也會密切注意。謝謝大家，祝大家一切順利。

On that, that said, as usual, Richard and I will be available throughout the day for any follow-up questions and clarifications. So thank you again and have a great day.

就此而言，與往常一樣，理查德和我將全天隨時解答任何後續問題並進行澄清。再次感謝您並祝您有愉快的一天。

Thank you (multiple speakers)--

謝謝（多位發言者）——

Thanks, everyone.

謝謝大家。

Thank you. The conference has now ended. Please disconnect your lines at this time and we thank you for your participation.

謝謝。會議現已結束。請立即斷開您的線路，感謝您的參與。