Cogeco Inc
TSX:CGO
Earnings Call Analysis
Q1-2024 Analysis
Cogeco Inc
Cogeco Inc. reported a revenue decrease of 2.3% and a subsequent EBITDA decline of 2.6%, which was impacted by the performance of Cogeco Communications. Despite these challenges, the media operations saw a 4% revenue increase, fueled by strong listener engagement and digital advertising.
For fiscal 2024, Cogeco Communications is projecting a decline in revenue by low single digits in constant currency and anticipates a reduction in EBITDA margin by about 100 basis points compared to the previous year's second quarter. Capital intensity is expected to rise by approximately 8 percentage points relative to the same period. These projections reflect increased operating expenses intended to bolster customer growth, eventually translating into EBITDA growth in the latter half of the year.
With a reduced share count post-buyback, Cogeco Communications forecasts a dividend payout representing 39% of free cash flow at the midpoint of fiscal 2024 guidelines, or 27% when accounting for network expansion costs. Additionally, following the refinancing of a large U.S. debt tranche, there is an expected decrease in financial expense by approximately $14 million from Q1 as one-time refinancing losses won't reoccur.
The company is expanding its footprint through network expansions and the digital brand Oxio, which operates both within and beyond traditional territories. Although specific margins aren't disclosed, Oxio generally commands higher margins within Cogeco's footprint due to lower service costs, despite its lower price points compared to traditional Cogeco services.
Cogeco anticipates growth in areas of network expansion and customer satisfaction in the Canadian market. In the U.S., they expect the MVNO initiative to support customer satisfaction and retention, rather than serve as a standalone growth factor. Cogeco is preparing to offer this technology throughout its U.S. footprint, underscoring a strategic approach to enrich its product mix and improve service.
In terms of capital allocation, Cogeco's priority remains to enhance network quality and customer service, particularly in the U.S., where market competition is intensifying. There's also a discussion regarding the feasibility of reshaping the company's structure due to historical reasons and recent share buybacks, keeping in view the potential risks and benefits associated with such changes.
Cogeco is recognized for its sterling corporate governance practices by the Globe and Mail Board Games, distinguishing itself as one of the top Canadian family-controlled dual class public corporations.
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Good day, and welcome to Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc. Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Patrice Ouimet, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications.Please go ahead, Mr. Ouimet.
Thank you. So good morning everybody, and welcome to this first quarter conference call, which Phillip Jette and I will present. So before we begin the call, I'd like to remind listeners that the call is subject to forward-looking statements, which can be found in our press releases issued yesterday. Please go ahead, Philippe.
Good morning, and thank you everyone for joining us for the first quarter results of fiscal 2024. But before we start, on behalf of Cogeco's management team and myself, we would like to extend our warmest wishes for the upcoming year to all of you. The first month of fiscal 2024 have been highlighted by significant milestones for our company. First, we secured additional wireless spectrum at attractive prices during the federal government's 3,800 megahertz auction, which now brings the spectrum coverage of our wire line footprint to 100%. In addition to providing valuable spectrum in the greater Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa regions. In total, we have now either acquired or secured nearly $600 million worth of spectrum across several frequency bands that are considered optimal for 5G wireless services.We remain in MVNO access negotiations in Canada as securing satisfactory wholesale rates for access to incumbent wireless networks is critical to the success of our mobile business. We cannot comment on the anticipated timeline or completion of the negotiations or potential arbitration that could extend this timeline. As a reminder, however, we don't anticipate a material rollout of our Canadian MVNO operations in the short-term as some preparation work remains. Beyond the regulated MVNO framework, we will remain open to have commercial deals for part of the service, should they be of mutual interest to the parties involved.Additionally, our progress towards entering the U.S. wireless market through commercial MVNO arrangement in the states we operate in is going well and we expect to provide further updates in the near future. For context, it is easier to get into mobility in the U.S. under reasonable economic terms as incumbent wireless carriers are willing to negotiate commercial MVNO arrangements. Further, the capital requirements to launch an MVNO service are very low, as there is no need to acquire and deploy spectrum and back office functions can be provided by third parties.The aim for our mobile offerings in both countries is not only to improve our bundling efficiency, but also to increase our addressable market, strengthen our product mix, add an important customer acquisition channel and improve our customer retention and satisfaction. All the while being capital-efficient and accretive to our business in due course.A second important milestone occurred subsequent to the end of the quarter. On December 11, we bought back shares in both Cogeco Communication and Cogeco Inc. at attractive prices per share, following the acquisitions by the Caisse de depot and placement du Quebec of all Rogers stake in both companies. These transactions provide several benefits, including increasing the net asset value of Cogeco, increasing the public float of Cogeco communications and generating free cash flow per share accretion in both companies. This opportunity represented a unique and attractive use of our capital to build value for shareholders and increase trading liquidity while strengthening our existing partnership with CDPQ, a leading global asset manager as an anchor investor in Cogeco Communications.As our financial performance for the quarter, our Q1 2024 results were in line with our expectations as we balance internet subscriber growth with financial performance. Our Canadian operations demonstrated strong internet subscriber growth, though declines in video and phone pressured revenue and adjusted EBITDA. In the United States, the ongoing economic and competitive challenges continue to be a headwind for our Breezeline operations. In both Canada and the United States, we continue to see the financial benefits from our fiber-to-the-home network expansion programs, which contributed to new internet subscribers in both markets.In Q1, we added more than 13,000 homes passed, bringing our total to 209,000 homes passed since the beginning of fiscal 2022, representing over 7% growth in our network. Many of these new broadband deployments were facilitated by government subsidy programs aim at reducing the digital divide and allowing us to expand our fiber network in attractive areas. Going forward, we are preparing for the construction phase of additional projects in Ontario with funding support from the Ontario and federal governments.In the U.S., we are continuing our network edges as well as expanding in Virginia under a state initiative to extend our broadband services to underserved areas. Additionally, we look forward to the upcoming launch of the $43 billion BEAD funding program, where each state will run its own process of allocating funds for fiber expansion in rural areas. Bidding is expected to occur in calendar year 2024 and 2025. If we're successful in bidding for BEAD funding, FTTH build outs would then be undertaken over multiple years.On the radio side, our stations remain at the top of the ratings confirming once again our leadership position in this market. Furthermore, our ongoing efforts to develop innovative digital solutions and adapt to a multi-platform audio content model are bringing to bear fruit -- beginning to bear fruit, which we believe will put us in a good stead over coming quarters.I will now review our operational results and I'll begin with Canadian operations. We continue to connect more homes in unserved and underserved communities in Quebec and Ontario, including through government partnerships and added nearly 7,800 additional homes passed this quarter. Bringing the total to approximately 104,000 new homes passed since the beginning of fiscal 2022. Our Canadian team achieve its best first quarter of retail internet additions in the past 12 years with nearly 11,000 new internet customers added in the quarter, driven by contribution or from our digital Oxio brand, our entry into newly served areas and effective sales and marketing and customer service in legacy territories.As for our U.S. operations, in Q1, our fiber network expansion program added nearly 6,000 new homes passed, bringing the total to more than 105,000 new homes passed since the beginning of fiscal 2022 further expanding our total addressable footprint. Our network expansion program and ongoing demand from existing customers or our higher speed offerings, helped offset customer losses at lower price points due to competition and challenging market conditions.Consistent with our internet-led strategy to improve our overall customer lifetime value, in Q1, we continue to see an improving product mix and customer tenure driven by a greater proportion of new connections, taking faster internet speed, resulting in a higher average revenue per unit. Our focus on cost efficiencies and product improvements such as our convenient self-install equipment help deliver another quarter of higher adjusted EBITDA margin.Within Ohio, we have significantly improved the speed and the quality of the network and proactively through our video equipment or our modern IPTV. We are continuing to focus on turning the internet customer base to growth as we focus on gaining greater brand awareness in the region. On that front, we have made solid progress that is beginning to show in our Ohio subscriber numbers, though we still have work to do. Outside Ohio, internet customer net losses were essentially in line with Q1 a year ago.For Cogeco Media, although the radio advertising industry remains on a long road to recovery, we are happy to report another quarter of year-over-year growth in revenue as our local advertising sales have been modestly rebounding. Having our stations at the top of the ratings, including 98.5 Montreal, Canada's most listened to radio station positions us well to face the industry challenges. In the meantime, we continue to expand our multi-platform audio content options with more digital ad-tech solutions, social media-oriented formats and state-of-the-art studio facilities, which are now making meaningful contribution to revenue growth.Now let me turn the call over to Patrice, who will provide more details on our financial performance for the quarter.
Thank you, Philippe. So I'll start by mentioning that the growth rates that I'll be referring to are in constant currency unless otherwise noted. In Canada, Cogeco Connexion revenue grew by 1.2% in Q1, resulting mainly from the Oxio acquisition and a higher internet service customer base, partially offset by a lower video and phone customer base. EBITDA declined by 1.1% as we had expected due to revenue growth being offset by higher operating expenses due to timing. In the U.S., Breezeline's revenue was down 6%, driven mainly by a lower customer base over the past year with an increasing proportion of customers only subscribing to internet services, partially offset by higher revenue per user as customers subscribed to faster internet speeds. EBITDA declined 3.6%, partially mitigating the drop in revenue as an increasingly attractive product mix continues to develop, along with cost reduction initiatives that have positively contributed to EBITDA margins.Turning to our consolidated numbers. At the consolidated level, revenue declined 2.5% while our adjusted EBITDA fell 2.8% on the expected software results of our U.S. and Canadian operations this quarter, along with a slight decline in margin resulting from the higher corporate costs. Those were due to the timing of certain expenses, including in relation to our plan to offer mobile services in Canada.Capital intensity was 19.6% compared to 25.8% last year due to the completion and the timing of several fiber-to-the-home network expansion projects. Excluding those network expansion projects, capital intensity was 15.3% compared to 17.2% last year. The lower capital intensity, notably in the U.S. was partially due to inventory drawdowns of customer premise equipment, which were accumulated during the pandemic to mitigate potential supply chain disruptions. Free cash flow increased by 30.7% over last year, primarily driven by lower CapEx in both countries. Excluding network expansion projects, free cash flow remain relatively stable. Net debt also remains stable in a quarter with a debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 3.4x. We have also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.854 per share.Turning to Cogeco Inc., revenue declined by 2.3% while EBITDA declined by 2.6% as a result of Cogeco communications performance. Media operations revenue increased by 4%, aided by a strong listener engagement across many of our stations and positive contributions from digital advertising revenue. A dividend of $0.854 per share was also declared in a quarter for Cogeco Inc.Now let's discuss Cogeco Communications financial guidelines for fiscal 2024, which we first provided to investors in early November. With Q1 results in line with our expectations, we are maintaining our annual guidelines with assumptions remaining the same as outlined on our last call. Our free cash flow forecast now includes the impact of higher interest expenses related to additional debt following the 3,800 megahertz spectrum option and the December share buyback. As it relates to Q2, we currently expect revenue to decline in the low single digits in constant currency. An EBITDA margin to be about a 100 basis points lower than the second quarter of last year.Capital intensity is anticipated to be approximately 8 percentage points above Q2 of last year. At Cogeco Connexion, in Q2, we expect revenue growth in the low single digits. EBITDA is anticipated to decline in the low single digits on higher operating expenses to drive and support customer growth, and then leading to EBITDA growth in the back half of the year. At Breezeline, Q2 revenue is anticipated to decline in the low single digits reflecting the competitive environment and video cost cutting. EBITDA is anticipated to increase year-over-year in the low single digits driven by cost reduction initiatives implemented in the second half of 2023.EBITDA growth is also expected in the following quarters at Breezeline. Below the EBITDA line of the consolidated level, we expect acquisition integration and restructuring to be roughly in line with what was recorded in Q2 of last year. In terms of CapEx, we expect Q2 to be our largest quarter of CapEx spend in fiscal '24 with approximately 30% of our full year CapEx spent in the quarter. This reflects ongoing strategic growth investments, including in network expansions and our mobility preparations. At Cogeco Inc., we have issued the same financial guidelines as Cogeco Communications and are maintaining such guidelines.As we noted on our last earnings call, we refinanced a large U.S. debt tranche during the quarter, which extended the debt weighted average term maturity to 5 years and brought the weighted average interest rate on our debt totally to 5.4%. In Q2, we expect our financial expense to decrease by about $14 million from Q1 as the loss on debt refinancing, which we booked during the quarter, will not reoccur in the upcoming quarter.Finally, with the lower share count going forward, we anticipate that dividends at Cogeco Communication will represent the payout of 39% of free cash flow in fiscal '24 at the midpoint of the guidelines, or 27% when excluding network expansions from free cash flow.And now I'll turn the call over to Philippe for concluding remarks.
Thank you, Patrice. And before we conclude this part of the call, we would like to say that we're delighted that our corporate governance practices have been recognized by the Globe and Mail Board Games as among the best within Canadian family-controlled dual class public corporations. And now, Patrice and I will be happy to take your questions.
[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from Maher Yaghi with Scotiabank.
I wanted to ask you, I noticed that you were quite active in the holiday period and the Black Friday on Oxio advertisements and promotions essentially in Montreal and in the area over there. So I wanted to ask you maybe if you can help us understand the economics of Oxio and how the subscriber loading that you're seeing from that business is translating into margins compared to your existing business. That would be helpful. And if you can help us understand how much of the growth that we saw on the broadband side in Canada came from Oxio. As much information as you can provide, I know you can't give us the numbers maybe, but just qualitative. And the second question I had on the U.S. business, are you expecting to see any pricing power improvement in the second half of the year in the U.S. to offset some of the subscriber pressure that we're seeing over?
First to talk about Oxio, and I think that's where your question is coming from. We are obviously more visible to you and many others as we are marketing outside of our legacy or traditional footprint with Oxio. So we are open for business in other markets. And second, it's a completely different marketing and sales approach where it's completely digital. So we're highly visible to SEM and SEO, web advertising, so in that setting where you have an impression that we're highly visible and it's true, we are more visible. Our marketing is not as targeted as it is in our traditional footprint. Yes. So in terms of margins, obviously we don't disclose this at the brand level but obviously when we are on footprint, because Oxio is available in our footprint as well. The price points for Oxio are a little lower than traditionally with Cogeco. It's a pure digital brand, so it's a different go-to market strategy. But the cost to service is also lower. So I would say, we typically make bigger margins in footprint with Oxio than we would do out of footprint, where basically we are paying TPIA rates to get access to networks.At this point, Oxio is in a high growth mode still, and because of this, there's a higher level of customer acquisition versus the base that it has compared to Cogeco. Overall that is growing as well, but not as fast as Oxio that is in the high growth mode. In terms of the Q1 additions of 11,000 units, it came from 3 buckets. So it came from Oxio, it came also from the network expansions we've been doing, especially the ones that we completed in Quebec. And it came also from our legacy footprint.So I will not go more into the details because we're getting very granular at this point, but the 3 areas have contributed. And in terms of pricing power in the U.S., well, it's normal to have some price increases. We don't talk about the upcoming ones as a practice for competitive reasons, but typically every year we'll have some on the products, and that's also always decisions we take in relation to where the market is. So the last ones we did were affected I believe to 4 of last year. But normally we do put some every year.
So are we to expect somewhat of a higher ARPU contribution from your U.S. business as the year progresses? Because we saw practically no ARPU growth in the quarter, if I'm not mistaken.
Yes, we do in the back half of the year. We do see some contribution coming from this which will also contribute to from what we're seeing so far positive EBITDA growth as well. I did mention Q2 in the prepared notes but that's also true for the balance of the year.
Your next question comes from Aravinda Galappatthige with Canaccord Genuity.
It's a connected question with respect to the Canadian side of the business. Again, I think for the third or fourth quarter in a row, you're seeing really good broadband net ads, obviously with the success you're seeing with Oxio and also with the footprint expansion gets harder to assess the legacy Canadian business. Can you maybe qualitatively give a sense of how the market share swings have trended in recent times? What the competitive intensity has been? Any color would be helpful.
Well, of course we're delighted to see the success of these expansions. We've been talking for some time about them as it takes time to build them. And they were Quebec first, Ontario second, and we have other in progress in the U.S. Now in terms of our legacy business, it is stable for the most part compared to last year. It's competitive out there. So of course we have competitors coming with promotions and pricing. We have ours as well. So we grow in expanded area and we keep our old on the legacy territory.
And just follow up on your MVNO comments. Just help us understand your thoughts around the U.S. MVNO initiative. How substantial do you think that could get? I mean, what regions are you thinking about? How broad are you looking to offer that? Do you have any framework there that you can share at this point?
Yes, like I've mentioned we are targeting the states we operate in. So it will be mostly helping customer satisfaction and customer retention. So we don't see it as a growth vector on its own, but it will be combined with existing offers and really enrich our product mix where we provide service.
So to be clear, if you'd launch, it would be in all the regions that you're present in, in the U.S. it won't be staggered.
Correct. So we more to come on our launch plans, but technology will be available throughout our footprint.
Your next question comes from Vince Valentini with TD Securities.
If I can start just trying to clarify a couple things, Patrice, the 3.4x leverage figure you gave in your prepared remarks, just to be clear that that's at the end of Q1, it does not factor in the Rogers and case transactions. Do you have the proforma figure after that?
Yes, so you're right. And proforma the about 0.1 more. So it'd be 3.5x.
Thank you. Second, you said CapEx up 8% in the second quarter versus the first quarter. I'm not sure, if that is 8 percentage points on a capital intensity basis or just 8%?
Basically what I was referring to is that we had the low amount of CapEx during the quarter and next quarter will be the reverse. So we should have about 30% our overall CapEx for the year spent. Obviously this can move a little bit because CapEx can change from week to week, but we should have about 30% of the annual figures spent in the second quarter, if that answers the question.
Yes. It does partially, but I think you said 8% if unless I'm mistaken, versus Q2 of last year, was that 8 points of capital intensity you're talking about increasing, or are you just saying if I take Q2 last year and add 8% to it? I assume it's 8 points of intensity given the magnitude of the swing from Q1 to Q2, but I just want to make sure.
Yes, I'm not exactly sure. So I think that it would be better actually to refer to the 30% and perhaps we can take it offline if you want later on today. But that would be the best figure to use the 30% of the overall year.
The guidance hasn't changed even though Q1 came in so low?
That's right. It's more a question of timing as opposed to a real change in the CapEx profile.
And on the subscriber trends start in Canada, you don't want to give us the mix between the 3 buckets, but can you talk directionally about the rural expansion initiatives, especially the Quebec homes that are done now? Are we at a full run rate now or you must be able to see when homes were lit up and then when subscribers start to get loaded and how that builds from month to month? So you probably have some predictive model of how these things will pace based on the timing of when each little territory was built. Based on that, are we now seeing the full run rate of the Quebec rural households, or is this still to build and get more subscribers as the year goes on? And then do you start to see some of the Ontario rural homes layer in as well?
Yes, so I would say the Quebec built, we're pretty much done with it. And the houses were released in different quarters. I would say the past 2 quarters were more prevalent in terms of releasing homes and then typically have a period of time, we do plan for a 3-year loading in these networks. But because there are subsidizing areas where there's typically slower speeds, that's why there are subsidies. The first year is a bit stronger. So we are in this, we do expect to continue to see significant loadings in Quebec. And then as we're working with the Ontario program, and we have several programs in Ontario this will get added. So it's not a very precise answer, but I would say once perhaps we start seeing a bit less loading in Quebec. But again, this will go on for a few years, you would probably see the Ontario houses start to contribute.
Okay. Second last Canada price increases. You mentioned U.S. rate increases were done last in Q4 of '23. Can you first off remind us when the last Canadian price increase was and then are you getting any sense of competitors making moves? Obviously some pretty high profile. We've seen Rogers announced a proposed rate increase. Don't know if we've seen confirmation from Bell in your regions yet, but given it seems to be a move towards some more typical annual rate increases. And you can just remind us what your cadence is and when the last one was in Canada?
Yes, so I'll start with the last one. So we had a price increase in Canada in October of last year. So that's the last one we did. And similar to what I was saying for the U.S., we typically have some increases every year. The timing of it can change. The products that are that are affected can change as well. And in terms of competitive intensity, well it's always been competitive in Canada still is right now. Typically it's more on the acquisition front where this activity can change quite often during the year with the different programs we have to attract new customers.
And last one, you may predict is coming, but just to ask again just in case there's any answer for it. I mean, what is the point of CGO as a separate public company now, given how small the float has become post the case Rogers transaction? It seems like that was Step 1 to collapse the holding company structure, but we haven't seen any announcement yet. So is this just a question of getting the paperwork done and timing, or do you disagree and is this not something that you might consider?
So as you know, the reason why we have 2 public companies is for historical reasons and they are back a few decades. And you're probably referring to the fact that we did the recent buybacks and the change in the blocks in the company. It still is a fact that there's a voting structures in the company. So we're always looking at ways of improving value for shareholders and in the company. So that is an option, but there's not much more I can say right now. So we are not close to anything including this. But anything we do comes with pros and cons and execution risk as well. So that's something we'll have to evaluate with the board. So not close to it, but nothing really to announce at that front on the positive or negative side today.
Your next question comes from Jerome Dubreuil with Desjardins.
First one is a capital allocation or generation maybe I should say, we have a higher leverage now, we have maybe investments in the wireless that are coming. And you were talking about accretive deals for the share buybacks. What about the U.S? Clearly, we're not seeing the value of the U.S. cable franchise being reflected in the share price. Would you be open to maybe selling a portion of the U.S. footprint, maybe realize this and improve your pool of capital? You can maybe redeploy or you're still close to the idea and still looking to increase the size?
Jerome, in the U.S., we are really focused and remain focused in the quality of our networks, the customer service. So we all are aware of the challenge we have seen with the increased competition in the marketplace. So we're focused on that. We have seen as well the impact of fixed wireless access and the macroeconomic in the States. This impacts almost everybody. But our focus right now are operational. In Ohio, we have turned the dial. We are really working for a net positive, net ads plan. So we have our eyes on that, and that's where the focus of the team is right now to improve the quality of the operations to resume our growth throughout all of the markets.
Pretty clear. The second one is on the lower CapEx in the U.S. I mean, you mentioned inventory drawdowns in the bump the next quarter, just since you have a new CTO and you have investments coming down the road, is there a change in approach or a philosophy that you have in terms of your edge outs maybe, or new deployments with government programs or this was just really a one-off in the quarter?
Yes, it was really a one-off in the quarter, so it's not tied to this. As you know in Canada, we're building, we always have some construction that goes on in the areas where we operate when there's new houses appearing. But we have big programs that are subsidized. In the U.S., we have a bit of subsidized programs right now but the majority is not, it's edging out. So I would say there is no change in strategy when with the numbers you saw during the quarter. That being said, as we've discussed before, this is something we always reevaluate in terms of capital allocation, whether we like areas where we're deploying or not, depending on where's the market for ARPUs and also competition.
And last one for me is if you can just confirm that you haven't filed for final law for arbitration yet on the MVNO file?
Every CRTC process is public, and it will be posted on the CRTC webpage.
Your next question comes from Matthew Griffiths with Bank of America.
I just wanted to return to Oxio if I could just for a second, and just get your comments on whether you're indifferent to adding Oxio brand subs within your footprint versus the Cogeco brand. And you're indifferent to adding the Oxio subs, obviously outside of the footprint, if you can comment on that. And then just separately in the U.S., it looks like there's a bit of an increase in the broadband subscriber losses outside of Ohio, and I think traditionally this is the footprint where you face like easier competition, perhaps a slower speed DSL. So just if you could comment on what you're seeing that is changing outside of that Ohio footprint and the rest of the territory, it'd be helpful.
First on Oxio, our strategy there is really to open new customer segments. And this is what we're doing. So it's an effort, it's marketed in a different way. And our first goal is really to open up segments in the markets where we were not as efficient. Of course, it is allowing some customers to switch from one brand to another. But the first and foremost goal is really to open new segments and allow those that are more price sensitive actually to locate the best price and value they want in a larger portfolio. Now, in the U.S., your question about outside in legacy territories, we are really focused on customer lifetime value. As I said earlier, the customers, we encourage always customers to actually move up in speed or in our product ladder. So we improve ARPUs, we can afford better service to customer with more ARPU per customer. And that's how we balance TSUs with financial performance. So that was and remain our focus throughout our footprint. We want to up the ladder when it comes to product mix.
And maybe if I could sneak one other one in just on BEAD, I know it's early in the process, but do you have a sense if there are some states within your territory that are maybe going to be leaders in this process? And then maybe there are some others that you're seeing are going to follow later behind? If there's any color at this stage that you can give on how that is shaking out across the territory, it'd be interesting.
Yes. As you suggested in your question, it's very early. I think at this stage, every player is analyzing what they shall best be doing. It's also a per state process, so a lot of information is coming down from NTIA to the States, but there is much more information that needs to be known. You can certainly assume as a good starting point that proximity is one of the leading factor in selection of bidding.
Your next question comes from Stephanie Price with CIBC.
I was curious about the U.S. margin. I was hoping you could break down the 7% OpEx decrease in the U.S. in the quarter by cost cuts and programming costs and sales efforts. And I'm just wondering if you would characterize the OpEx savings seen this quarter as starting permanent margin expansion in the region, and maybe finally just how we should think about possibilities are upside from further cost cuts?
Sure. So when you look at the EBITDA margin in the U.S., it was basically 48% in Q1. That was 0.5% higher than the previous quarter but a little more than 1% versus the previous year. So it is going up, it's a mix of things. So we constantly always look for ways to improve our operations. So we had a bit of a workforce reduction going on in Q4 of last year. So that benefits this year. We are doing a lot of effort as well on digitizing our operations, improving the IVR, so the phone systems that people use and be able to provide answers on an automated fashion to customers. And basically improve the way we manage our cost in the contact centers. We have also, in terms of a mix of product as there is more video cost cutting in the U.S. versus Canada, the video costs obviously are more important than what you see on the on the internet side. So that mix also produces a higher EBITDA margin. I don't know if that answers your question.
It does. And then just post the spectrum auction, hope you could talk a little bit about your spectrum strategy, whether you have enough spectrum to roll at the MVNO and what the options are for any excess spectrum that you might possess?
Well, our spectrum portfolio is for the most part the sum of what we have purchased in the 35 auction, the first auction, and the 35 and the 3.5 band. And now we've top up many of our markets and supplemented that with 38. So you can see that we're going for a spectrum that is the best suited for 5G. That is clear from our strategy, and we are very happy to have successfully execute first coverage. We now have 100% of our war line coverage and second enough capacity to operate and be competitive in the market.
[Operator Instructions] Your next question comes from Drew McReynolds with RBC.
Just a couple others from me. So in your opening remarks, you talked within Ohio, you're making progress, but have some more work to do. Can you just give us a sense of what still is to be finished or to be determined or to be built up in terms of turning around that internet trajectory? And then second, maybe for you, Patrice, just not looking for specific guidance, but you've been helpful on the medium term consolidated CapEx intensity outlook for Cogeco. And specifically you've commented, I think last that I think fiscal 2026 is when you maybe fall back below 20% CapEx intensity. Are you able just to reiterate that or provide an update on just where you think things are going to project medium term?
Sure. The first question was? I forgot.
Well, let me start maybe with the second one then. So on the CapEx, obviously we do segregate as you said, the CapEx between regular CapEx and the one that includes expansions. Most of the CapEx going on, and obviously Quebec is done in Canada. We're very focused on Ontario in fiscal '24 and '25 as well. So it is true that based on our current forecast in fiscal '26, this number will come down. There's still going to be some remaining work in Ontario in fiscal '26 based on our current plans but to a lower extent than in fiscal '25. When we look at the U.S., these, as I was saying before, are mainly not subsidized. That's our choice. We do expect that by fiscal '26 this number will have come down a lot. The only question mark will be the BEAD program were talking about. If we do win some of these subsidized programs, this will generate additional CapEx. But we have under the rules 4 years to build under BEAD once an area is 1. So this can be paged over several years.
Sorry, Drew, I was focused on your second question and I lost first one. So back to Ohio and what's left for you to do there? So you'll remember that for many quarters, we invested in bettering the quality, the performance, the capacity of the network in the regions. It took time, but it's paying off. For example, in Columbus, the local newspaper, the Columbus Dispatch has now voted us the best network in the City of Columbus. So we needed to go to the time it took to announce the performance. Now we have the best network in Columbus. The second part is branding. We for many quarters have invested to elevate this Breezeline new brand in a market where there are 5 players. We're the fifth one, TMo and Verizon are all over the place as AT&T and Charter. So branding, we're making progress. It will take some quarters for us to be in net positive and find growth again. But we have significantly reduced the decline and now we're working our way up to a net positive. But it will take several quarters from here to cross that line.
That's helpful context. One quick last one on the timing of U.S. wireless and coming up with your MVNO arrangements. I may have missed this, but at any timeframe for when you can launch that offering in the U.S. market?
As I said, in the near future, stay tuned.
There are no further questions at this time. Please proceed.
Okay. Well, thanks everyone for being on a call today. As usual Troy and I are available. If you have additional questions, feel free to reach out. And thank you everyone for being there today.
Thank you.
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