A Shaw Communications sign is shown at the company's headquarters in Calgary on Jan. 14, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

CALGARY - Freedom Mobile's revenue was down in the second quarter, mostly due to reduced sales of Apple devices, but the regional carrier also faced more aggressive pricing from its rivals, Shaw Communications executives said Tuesday.

Shaw's wireless arm dragged down the company's overall revenue, which was otherwise flat, but Shaw executives said they expect to meet their key financial estimates for the full year ending Aug. 31.

"We continue to make progress on our strategic priorities and our journey to a modern Shaw, and we are excited about a number of recently announced initiatives," chief executive Brad Shaw told analysts on a conference call.

He and other Shaw executives noted, however, that the company's wireless division was affected by promotional pricing by its rivals during the December-February period, one of the busiest selling periods of the year.

"We've seen pretty significant investments from the incumbents on retention," said Paul McAleese, president of Shaw's wireless business.

In response, Freedom recently launched a new campaign that McAleese said will remind "Canadian consumers that there are strong alternatives and better value in the marketplace."

Nevertheless, Shaw's overall revenue from the wireless division dipped to $247 million compared with $264 million a year ago, solely because Freedom's sales of devices declined more than sales of services increased.

Wireless equipment revenue, which includes sales of Apple iPhones, fell by 40 per cent to $78 million in this year's second quarter, down from $130 million in last year's second quarter.

That more than offset an increase in wireless service revenue, which rose 26 per cent to $169 million from $134 million, as Freedom added 47,800 net subscribers (a loss of 16,900 prepaid offset a gain of 64,700 postpaid subscribers).

Meanwhile, Shaw's legacy wireline business increased revenue 0.5 per cent to $1.071 billion — including a flat $923 million from consumer services such as residential TV and internet.

Revenue from Shaw's wireline services for businesses increased 5.7 per cent to $148 million.

Shaw's net income amounted to 30 cents per share for the three months ended Feb. 28 compared with a loss of 35 cents per share or $175 million a year earlier. Revenue was $1.32 billion, down from $1.33 billion a year ago.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 30 cents per share for the quarter and revenue of $1.37 billion, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

— by David Paddon in Toronto

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