(Reuters) -Canada's Rogers Communications met Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue on Thursday, as a rise in immigration to the country supported demand for the firm's wireless and internet services.
Competition has stepped up as the big three carriers - Rogers, BCE and Telus - ramp up their offerings of bundled plans and increase promotions to retain customers in a market where wireless charges are among the highest in the world.
Rogers' free cash flow, a metric closely watched by investors to help determine dividend payouts, came in at C$745 million, above the C$636.5 million estimated by seven analysts polled by Visible Alpha.
Subscriber growth has also benefited from the country seeing a steady rise in immigration as it welcomes more people in a bid to grow its population.
In the quarter ended September, Rogers added 225,000 monthly bill-paying wireless subscribers, indicating robust demand for its 5G services. This was higher than Visible Alpha estimates for net adds of 186,210.
Total revenue stood at C$5.09 billion ($3.69 billion), compared with analysts' estimates of C$5.08 billion, according to LSEG data.
In March, Canada approved Rogers' buyout of Shaw Communications after the company secured binding commitments to pay financial penalties if it failed to create new jobs and invest to expand its network.
($1 = 1.3788 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
