Rogers 2012 Annual Report Download - page 26

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2012
In this Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”), we include
the results of operations of Rogers Communications and its
subsidiaries. The terms “we”, “us”, “our”, “Rogers”, “Rogers
Communications” and “the Company” refer to Rogers
Communications Inc. and our subsidiaries. “RCI” refers to the legal
entity Rogers Communications Inc., excluding our subsidiaries. We
refer to and report the results of our operations in four segments as
follows:
• “Wireless”, which refers to our wireless communications
operations, carried on by our wholly owned subsidiary Rogers
Communications Partnership (“RCP”);
• “Cable”, which refers to our cable communications operations,
including cable television, Internet and cable telephony, carried on
by RCP;
• “Business Solutions” (“RBS”), which refers to our operations that
offer wired telephony, data networking and IP services for
Canadian businesses and governments, as well as making some of
these offerings available on a wholesale basis to other
telecommunications providers, carried on by RCP; and
• “Media”, which refers to our wholly owned subsidiary Rogers
Media Inc. and its subsidiaries, including Rogers Broadcasting,
which owns a group of 55 radio stations, the City television
network, the Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet World television
networks, The Shopping Channel, the OMNI television stations,
Canadian specialty channels, including Outdoor Life Network, The
Biography Channel (Canada), G4 Canada, FX (Canada), and
CityNews Channel; Digital Media, which provides digital advertising
solutions to various websites; Rogers Publishing, which produces
more than 50 consumer magazines and professional publications;
and Rogers Sports Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Blue
Jays Baseball Club (“Blue Jays”) and Rogers Centre. Media also
holds ownership interests in entities involved in specialty television
content, television production and broadcast sales.
This MD&A should be read in conjunction with our 2012 Audited
Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes. The following financial
information has been prepared in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and is expressed in Canadian
dollars, unless otherwise stated. This MD&A is current as of
February 14, 2013 and was approved by the Board of Directors.
Throughout this MD&A, all percentage changes are calculated using
the rounded numbers as they appear in the tables. Charts, graphs and
diagrams are included for ease of reference only and do not form
part of management’s discussion and analysis.
CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, RISKS
AND ASSUMPTIONS
This MD&A includes “forward-looking information” within the
meaning of applicable securities laws and assumptions concerning,
among other things, our business, its operations and its financial
performance and condition approved by management on the date of
this MD&A. This forward-looking information and these assumptions
include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to our
objectives and strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as
statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, expectations,
anticipations, estimates or intentions. This forward-looking
information also includes, but is not limited to, guidance and
forecasts relating to revenue, adjusted operating profit, property,
plant and equipment expenditures, cash income tax payments, free
cash flow, dividend payments, expected growth in subscribers and the
services to which they subscribe, the cost of acquiring subscribers and
the deployment of new services, and all other statements that are not
historical facts. The words “could”, “expect”, “may”, “anticipate”,
“assume”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate”, “plan”, “project”,
“guidance” and similar expressions are intended to identify
statements containing forward-looking information, although not all
forward-looking statements include such words. Conclusions,
forecasts and projections set out in forward-looking information are
based on our current objectives and strategies and on estimates and
other factors and expectations and assumptions, most of which are
confidential and proprietary, that we believe to be reasonable at the
time applied but may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited
to, general economic and industry growth rates, currency exchange
rates, product pricing levels and competitive intensity, subscriber
growth, usage and churn rates, changes in government regulation,
technology deployment, device availability, the timing of new
product launches, content and equipment costs, the integration of
acquisitions and industry structure and stability.
Except as otherwise indicated, this MD&A and our forward-looking
statements do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring
or other special items or of any dispositions, monetizations, mergers,
acquisitions, other business combinations or other transactions that
may be considered or announced or may occur after the date the
statement containing the forward-looking information is made.
We caution that all forward-looking information, including any
statement regarding our current objectives, strategies and intentions,
and any factor, assumptions, estimate or expectation underlying the
forward-looking information, is inherently subject to change and
uncertainty and that actual results may differ materially from those
expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. A number
of risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results and
events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking information or could cause our current objectives,
strategies and intentions to change, including but not limited to new
interpretations and new accounting standards from accounting
standards bodies, economic conditions, technological change, the
integration of acquisitions, unanticipated changes in content or
equipment costs, changing conditions in the entertainment,
information and communications industries, regulatory changes,
litigation and tax matters, the level of competitive intensity, and the
emergence of new opportunities.
Many of these factors are beyond our control and current expectation
or knowledge. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or
other factors materialize, our objectives, strategies or intentions
change, or any other factors or assumptions underlying the forward-
looking information prove incorrect, our actual results and our plans
could vary significantly from what we currently foresee. Accordingly,
we warn investors to exercise caution when considering statements
containing forward-looking information and that it would be
unreasonable to rely on such statements as creating legal rights
regarding our future results or plans. We are under no obligation
(and we expressly disclaim any such obligation) to update or alter any
statements containing forward-looking information or the factors or
assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
All of the forward-looking information in this MD&A is qualified by
the cautionary statements herein.
Before making any investment decisions and for a detailed discussion
of the risks, uncertainties and environment associated with our
business, fully review the “Operating Environment” section of this
MD&A, including the sections titled “Risks and Uncertainties Affecting
our Businesses” and “Government Regulation and Regulatory
Developments”. Our annual and quarterly reports can be found
online at rogers.com/investors, sedar.com and sec.gov or are available
directly from Rogers by e-mailing a request to
[email protected].
22 ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC. 2012 ANNUAL REPORT