Rogers 2013 Annual Report Download - page 6

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E FUTURE BENEFIT OF ALL OUR STAKEHOLDERS.”
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN
ALAN HORN, CPA, CA
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC.
ALAN HORN, CPA, CA
2013 was another solid year in which Rogers made clear progress on a number of
strategic fronts, while continuing to deliver strong returns to shareholders and
building upon the company’s deep-rooted foundations for the future benefit of all
our stakeholders. Our management team delivered on their financial guidance
targets in what continue to be highly competitive and regulatorily intense markets.
Rogers continued to deliver on the evolution
and expansion of its core services. It quickly
expanded the reach of Canada’s first and
fastest LTE wireless network to 73% of the
Canadian population, introduced significant
enhancements to its broadband data speeds
and cable TV platform, and further added
to its leading sports content and digital
media assets.
The company executed several strategic
transactions that support Rogers core growth
strategies, including in the areas of wireless
spectrum and network sharing, cable footprint
expansion, and significantly expanding its data
centre, colocation and managed services
capabilities for businesses. In addition, it struck
a landmark 12 year agreement with the NHL
for the exclusive national hockey broadcast
rights across Canada.
Rogers also continued to deliver on its
innovation agenda, being first to market
with a series of new services in 2013,
including in the quickly growing areas of
mobile payments, machine-to-machine
communications, home monitoring, local
digital services, and a new and unique
customer loyalty program.
We continued to return increasing amounts
of cash to shareholders. In 2013, the
company’s significant cash generation
allowed the Board to increase the dividend
by 10% and return approximately $900
million to our shareholders in the form of
dividends and share buybacks. And we
further increased the dividend by 5% in
February 2014, continuing a multi-year trend
of dividend growth. As you read on in this
report, you will find many more examples and
much detail of the company’s operational and
financial accomplishments over the past year.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank
our recently retired President and Chief
Executive Officer Nadir Mohamed for his
leadership and substantial contributions at
Rogers over the past 13 years. Succeeding
a founder with professional management
is always a delicate and important transition
in the life cycle of a company, and Nadir
provided important continuity and solid
leadership as CEO over the course of the
past five years for which the Board and
management team are thankful.
Following an extensive international search
process, in September, 2013 the Board
announced that Guy Laurence would become
President and Chief Executive Officer of
Rogers effective in December 2013.
Guy brings 30 years of global experience
in telecom, pay television and media, and
is a proven, hands-on executive who has
consistently delivered strong financial and
operating results in highly complex and
competitive markets. Guy is an excellent
fit for this role on many levels and the entire
Board look forward to his leadership for
many years to come.
I would encourage you to review the
discussions around our corporate governance,
community investments and sustainability
initiatives later in this annual report. First class
corporate governance practices have always
been a strong tenet at Rogers, and as an
entrepreneur founded and family controlled
company, our Board takes pride in what is a
proactive and disciplined approach to
ensuring that our governance practices
continue to justify the confidence of the
public capital markets. Giving back to the
communities we serve is also an important
part of our culture at Rogers and the Board is
very proud of the significant initiatives and
investments which the company undertook
over the past year on the corporate social
responsibility front.
I would like to thank Rogers’ 28,000
employees for their ongoing dedication to
our customers and striving to make Rogers
better every day, my fellow Board members
for their counsel and drive towards delivering
continued value to our shareholders, and
you our shareholders for your continued
investment in this great company.
02 ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC. 2013 ANNUAL REPORT
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