BCE reports Q4 and 2013 results, announces 2014 financial outlook

BCE reports Q4 and 2013 results, announces 2014 financial outlook

Common share dividend increased 6.0% to $2.47 per year


-- BCE Q4 net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $495
million; Adjusted net earnings of $540 million, up 16.4%;
Adjusted net earnings per share of $0.70, up 16.7%
-- Strong 11.4% growth in free cash flow in Q4 to $674 million
-- Double-digit Wireless and Media EBITDA growth of 10.4% and
33.7% respectively, drives 7.0% increase in total Bell EBITDA
-- Bell Wireline EBITDA growth positive this quarter on stronger
residential Wireline revenue growth and improving
year-over-year Bell Business Markets financial performance
-- Healthy Q4 Wireless postpaid net additions of 119,520; 2.1%
higher Wireless blended ARPU reflects increased data usage
driven by steady smartphone growth; consumer mobile roaming
rates significantly reduced
-- Bell Fibe TV momentum continues with net additions of 60,301,
up 25.0% as service footprint expands to more than 4.3 million
households; high-speed Internet net activations more than
double to 15,690; residential local access line losses improve
27.3% year over year
-- All 2013 financial guidance targets achieved

This news release contains forward-looking statements. For a description
of the related risk factors and assumptions please see the section
entitled "Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements" later in this
release.


MONTREAL, Feb. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE),
Canada's largest communications company, today reported BCE and Bell
2013 fourth quarter (Q4) and annual results in addition to announcing
its financial guidance for 2014, and a $0.14 per share increase in its
annual common share dividend to $2.47.




FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

($ millions except per
share amounts)
(unaudited) Q4 2013 Q4 2012 % change 2013 2012 % change

Bell (i)

Operating Revenues 4,813 4,577 5.2% 18,109 17,645 2.6%

EBITDA(1) 1,693 1,582 7.0% 6,817 6,596 3.4%

BCE

Operating Revenues 5,382 5,161 4.3% 20,400 19,978 2.1%

EBITDA 1,998 1,896 5.4% 8,089 7,888 2.5%

Net Earnings
Attributable to Common
Shareholders 495 666 (25.7%) 1,975 2,456 (19.6%)

EPS 0.64 0.86 (25.6%) 2.55 3.17 (19.6%)

Adjusted EPS(2) 0.70 0.60 16.7% 2.99 2.96 1.0%

Cash flows from
operating activities 1,838 863 113.0% 6,476 5,560 16.5%

Free Cash Flow(3) 674 605 11.4% 2,571 2,428 5.9%

(i) Bell includes the Bell Wireless, Bell Wireline and Bell Media
segments.







"Bell's strategy of intense investment in Canada's next-generation
communications infrastructure is delivering for our customers and
shareholders. Momentum continued across all Bell's business segments,
especially in our Wireless, Media, TV and Internet growth services,"
said George Cope, President and CEO of Bell Canada and BCE Inc. "We
achieved healthy smartphone additions and operating metrics in
Wireless, ongoing acceleration in Fibe TV and Internet, and strong
financial growth and ratings leadership at Media. At the same time, we
reduced losses in traditional home and business landlines, supporting
the positive trajectory in Bell Wireline revenue and EBITDA, and
continued to decrease operating costs. Our strategy of investment in
growth services, coupled with strong execution by the Bell team in a
competitive marketplace, is delivering significant increases in
revenue, EBITDA and free cash flow growth."



Bell is dedicated to achieving a clear goal - to be recognized by
customers as Canada's leading communications company - through the
execution of 6 Strategic Imperatives: Invest in Broadband Networks and
Services, Accelerate Wireless, Leverage Wireline Momentum, Expand Media
Leadership, Improve Customer Service, and Achieve a Competitive Cost
Structure.



"We had another successful year financially, with solid revenue and
EBITDA growth driving higher levels of free cash flow and Adjusted
earnings. Our healthy balance sheet is underpinned by strong credit
metrics, a favourable liquidity position, and a significant improvement
in the funded status of Bell Canada's defined benefit pension plan,"
said Siim Vanaselja, Chief Financial Officer for Bell Canada and BCE.
"Our 2014 financial guidance reflects continued strong operating
momentum across our core businesses, the ongoing transformation of our
revenue and EBITDA mix away from traditional voice services, and U.S.
dollar-denominated purchases of goods and services that are fully
hedged at close to par. Our strong financial position and projected
free cash flow growth for 2014, provides us with considerable financial
capacity to execute our dividend growth strategy, while increasing
capital investment to support the growth of our business."


DIVIDEND INCREASE

Today's dividend announcement represents BCE's tenth increase to its
annual common share dividend, representing a 69% increase, in the past
5 years. The BCE annualized common share dividend will increase 6.0%,
or 14 cents per share, from $2.33 to $2.47 effective with BCE's Q1 2014
dividend, payable on April 15, 2014 to shareholders of record at the
close of business on March 14, 2014. This increase maintains our
dividend payout ratio at the mid-point of our target policy range of
65% to 75% of free cash flow. The higher dividend for 2014 is supported
by higher expected free cash flow generation and a positive business
outlook for 2014.


BCE RESULTS

BCE reported Q4 2013 net earnings attributable to common shareholders of
$495 million, or $0.64 per share, compared to $666 million, or $0.86
per share, in Q4 2012. The year-over-year decrease in net earnings was
due to a non-cash gain recognized in Q4 2012 on the transfer of
spectrum from Inukshuk to its partners. Adjusted net earnings( )attributable to common shareholders were $540 million, an increase of
16.4%, and Adjusted earnings per share (EPS)( )increased 16.7% to $0.70 from $0.60, mainly as a result of higher EBITDA
at Bell.



For 2013, net earnings attributable to common shareholders were $1,975
million, or $2.55 per share, down from $2,456 million, or $3.17 per
share, in 2012. The year-over-year decrease was due to the CRTC
tangible benefits obligation of $230 million that Bell was ordered to
pay as part of the acquisition of Astral that was completed in Q3 2013,
the higher value of uncertain tax positions favourably resolved in
2012, and the aforementioned non-cash gain recognized on the transfer
of spectrum from Inukshuk to its partners. Adjusted net earnings( )attributable to common shareholders of $2,317 million and Adjusted EPS
of $2.99, were up 1.0% compared to 2012, reflecting the flow-through of
higher Bell Wireless and Bell Media EBITDA.



BCE's cash flow from operating activities was $1,838 million, compared
to $863 million last year in Q4 2012, due mainly to lower contributions
to post-employment benefit plans, attributable to the $750 million
voluntary defined benefit pension plan contribution made in 2012. Free
cash flow was $674 million, up 11.4% from $605 million in the previous
year, driven by higher EBITDA and an increase in working capital.
Similarly, for full-year 2013, cash flow from operating activities
increased 16.5% to $6,476 million and free cash flow was up 5.9% to
$2,571 million.



At the end of Q4 2013, BCE (Bell and Bell Aliant) served a total of
7,925,032 wireless customers, up 1.3% from Q4 2012; total TV
subscribers of 2,489,248 (including 657,513 IPTV customers, reflecting
the addition of 75,120 net new IPTV subscribers in Q4 2013), a 7.7%
increase; total high-speed Internet subscribers of 3,136,636, up 3.0%;
and total NAS lines of 7,595,569, a decrease of 6.6%.


BELL RESULTS

Bell operating revenues increased 5.2% to $4,813 million in Q4 2013,
driven by steady Wireless revenue growth, positive Wireline residential
services revenue growth as strong TV and Internet expansion outpaced
declines in traditional voice services, and Astral's contribution to
Bell Media results.



Bell EBITDA was $1,693 million in Q4, up 7.0%, reflecting strong
double-digit EBITDA growth of 10.4% at Bell Wireless and 33.7% at Bell
Media. Notably, we generated positive EBITDA growth of 0.3% at Bell
Wireline this quarter with a 41,000 year-over-year improvement in total
Bell Wireline residential net customer losses, higher household ARPU,
and a reduction in operating costs. Higher EBITDA across all Bell
segments contributed to a 0.6 percentage-point improvement in Bell's
consolidated EBITDA margin to 35.2%.



For 2013, in line with guidance targets for the year, Bell operating
revenues and EBITDA were up 2.6% and 3.4%, respectively, to $18,109
million and $6,817 million. Bell's 2013 operating revenues and EBITDA
reflect the contribution of Astral to Bell Media revenues and EBITDA
after it became part of Bell Media on July 5, 2013.



Bell invested $992 million in new capital in Q4 2013, bringing total
capital expenditures to $3,001 million in 2013, an increase of 2.7%
over 2012. These investments reflect the continued deployment of
broadband fibre to homes, neighbourhoods and businesses in Québec and
Ontario that is fuelling the rapid expansion of Fibe TV; the ongoing
rollout of 4G LTE mobile service in markets across Canada; higher
spending on network capacity to support increasing Internet and mobile
data consumption; enhancements to customer service systems; and the
addition of new Bell and The Source stores across Canada.


BELL OPERATING RESULTS BY SEGMENT

Bell Wireless

Bell Wireless operating revenues increased 3.2% to $1,505 million in Q4
2013 with service revenue up 3.7% to $1,359 million and EBITDA up 10.4%
to $529 million, reflecting the flow-through of postpaid smartphone
subscribers acquired in 2013, combined with blended ARPU growth from
higher data revenue.



Wireless data revenue increased 15.2% on higher customer usage driven by
greater adoption of smartphones and increased data consumption on our
4G LTE network that is driving growth in wireless, Internet, video
streaming, and data services such as Bell Mobile TV. In Q4, Bell also
continued to reduce the price of mobile roaming for Canadian consumers
travelling to popular international destinations.



Bell Wireless EBITDA grew 10.4% to $529 million, delivering a 2.4
percentage-point expansion in EBITDA service margin to 38.9%, which
also benefited from a 0.3% reduction in operating costs resulting from
disciplined spending on postpaid subscriber acquisition and customer
retention.



For full-year 2013, Bell Wireless operating revenues increased 4.7% to
$5,849 million on postpaid service revenue growth of 6.7% and data
growth of 19.4%. EBITDA grew 10.6% to $2,340 million as service margin
increased 2.0 percentage points to 43.6%, our highest margin result
since 2009.



-- Postpaid net additions in Q4 totalled 119,520, compared to
143,834 in Q4 2012. This reflected a 6.7% decrease in postpaid
gross activations attributable to a high level of competitive
intensity during the holiday period, as well as to lower
handset discounts and increased rate plan pricing on new 2-year
contracts, introduced following the implementation of the new
federal Wireless Code of Conduct, that impacted customer
acquisitions year over year.

-- Smartphone users represented 73% of total postpaid subscribers
at the end of 2013, compared to 62% a year earlier. Bell
Wireless postpaid customers totalled 6,677,692 at the end of
the year, an increase of 3.9%. Total Bell Wireless customers
grew 1.3% to 7,778,334. Effective with Q4 2013 and on a
prospective basis, all machine-to-machine, or M2M,
subscriptions have been excluded from subscriber-based
measures.

-- Postpaid customer churn improved to 1.29% from 1.35%,
reflecting increasing investment in customer service and
retention.

-- Blended ARPU increased 2.1% in the quarter to $57.92,
representing the sixteenth consecutive quarter of
year-over-year improvement. Growth was driven mainly by a
greater proportion of postpaid subscribers in our wireless
customer base and escalating data consumption consistent with
higher smartphone penetration and increasing usage of mobile
data services on our leading 4G wireless broadband networks.
For the full year 2013, blended ARPU increased 2.6% to $57.25.

-- Cost of acquisition (COA) decreased 2.5% this quarter to $468
per subscriber, mainly reflecting lower average handset
discounts. For 2013, COA per gross activation remained
relatively stable at $421 compared to $416 in 2012.

-- Retention spending as a percentage of service revenue increased
to 12.4% in Q4 2013, compared to 12.1% in Q4 2012, due to a
higher number of early handset upgrades year over year and
matching of competitors' richer handset offers. In line with
our plan, 2013 retention spending amounted to 10.3% of total
wireless service revenue.

-- Responding to customer demand, Bell continued to reduce the
cost of mobile roaming in the countries that Canadians travel
to the most. Following significant decreases in consumer
roaming rates for the United States in September, in Q4 Bell
reduced data, text and voice roaming pricing for Bermuda,
Caribbean sun destinations and major Canadian travel
destinations worldwide, including Europe, Mexico, China,
Turkey, Australia and New Zealand. Bell is continuing to work
with international telecom suppliers to cut the cost of
international mobile roaming for Canadian consumers.

-- Bell Mobile TV subscribers exceeded 1.2 million at the end of
2013, up 66% over the previous year. Mobile TV offers on-the-go
access to over 40 sports, news, entertainment, and children's
TV channels. Additionally, the Bell TV app enables customers to
access more than 70 other live and on-demand channels via Wi-Fi
on their smartphones and tablets.

-- Bell continued to enhance its industry-leading smartphone
line-up with the availability of the Blackberry Z30, Google
Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, Sony
Xperia Ultra and Sony Xperia Z1.

-- Bell offers customers access to Canada's largest 4G LTE mobile
network, currently reaching 80% of the Canadian population and
complemented by 4G HSPA+ coverage to more than 98% of the
population.

Bell Wireline

Higher TV and Internet revenues, driven by subscriber growth in Fibe TV
and increased ARPU, along with strong business IP connectivity and
Professional Services growth, slowed the pace of Wireline revenue
erosion this quarter.



Bell Wireline operating revenues were essentially unchanged compared to
Q4 2012, decreasing by 0.3% to $2,601 million in Q4 2013. Bell
Residential Services delivered revenue growth of 3.1%, while the rate
of revenue decline at Bell Business Markets improved year over year.
Bell Wireline also generated positive EBITDA growth this quarter,
increasing 0.3% to $934 million, with margin improving 0.2 percentage
points to 35.9%, supported by a $10 million year-over-year reduction in
operating costs.



For full-year 2013, Wireline operating revenues decreased 1.2% to
$10,097 million, while operating costs were stable compared to last
year, resulting in a 3.2% decline in Wireline EBITDA to $3,794 million.
Wireline EBITDA margin was 37.6%, down 0.8 percentage points from 38.4%
in 2012, due to higher acquisition costs from significantly more new
Fibe TV and Internet customer activations in 2013 than the year before,
and higher post-employment benefit plans service cost (pension
expense).



-- Bell Fibe TV added 60,301 net new customers, up 25.0% compared
to 48,234 in Q4 2012. Fibe TV subscriber acquisition continued
to accelerate year over year with ongoing expansion of the Fibe
footprint and enhanced features including the Fibe TV wireless
receiver and Fibe Remote app. At the end of 2013, Bell Fibe TV
subscribers totalled 479,430, nearly double the 248,298
subscribers at the end of 2012.

-- The Bell Fibe TV footprint reached more than 4.3 million
households at the end of 2013, compared to approximately 3.3
million at the end of 2012.

-- Total Bell Satellite TV losses improved 16.9% this quarter to
24,112, reflecting lower customer churn driven by matching of
competitive offers, product enhancements, and fewer customer
migrations to Fibe TV.

-- Combined Fibe TV and Satellite TV net additions were up 88.3%
to 36,189, compared to 19,218 in Q4 2012. The Bell TV
subscriber base totalled 2,278,433 at the end of 2013, a
year-over-year increase of 5.7%.

-- Bell high-speed Internet net customer additions were 15,690 in
Q4 2013, more than double the 7,269 customers added in Q4 2012.
The year-over-year improvement reflects stronger Internet
customer attach rates on Fibe TV service bundles and higher
service speeds enabled by continued broadband fibre network
expansion, which contributed to lower residential customer
churn. Bell had 2,184,543 high-speed Internet customers at the
end of 2013, a 2.7% increase over 2012.

-- Wireline data revenue was $1,513 million in the quarter, up
4.1%, driven by robust residential growth and better
year-over-year Bell Business Markets performance. Residential
Wireline data revenue was up 9.2% in Q4 2013 on significantly
higher TV and Internet revenues, while healthy IP connectivity
revenue growth of 6.1% and higher spending on professional
business services by our mid-sized and large enterprise
customers supported improved Business Markets results compared
to last year.

-- Residential NAS net losses in Q4 2013 improved 27.3%, or
63,281, compared to 87,029 last year, driven by the
pull-through effect of Fibe TV service bundles. Business NAS
losses also improved 11.4%, or 32,478, compared to 36,641 in Q4
2012, supported by increased demand for new small business and
wholesale service installations and fewer customer
deactivations in the mass, mid-sized and wholesale customer
segments. Total NAS at the end of 2013 was 5,242,249, a 7.1%
decline compared to the previous year, attributable to ongoing
aggressive competition from the cable operators and increasing
wireless and Internet-based technology substitution.

-- Consistent with the year-over-year reduction in NAS net losses,
the rate of local and access revenue decline improved to 6.6%
in Q4 2013 to $606 million.

-- Long distance revenues declined 10.5% to $171 million. The
decrease reflects fewer minutes of use by residential and
business customers resulting from NAS line losses and
technology substitution, ongoing rate pressures, and decreased
sales of global long distance minutes.

Bell Media

Bell Media operating revenue was up 38.9% in Q4 2013 to $821 million
while EBITDA grew 33.7% to $230 million. The increases reflect higher
advertising and subscriber fee revenues from the Astral acquisition,
which closed on July 5, 2013, as well as planned market-based step-ups
in specialty TV rates paid by broadcast distributors for Bell Media
content and programming. For the full year 2013, operating revenue and
EBITDA were up 17.1% and 21.7%, respectively, to $2,557 million and
$683 million.



-- Bell Media continued to maintain its leadership position with
strong audience levels across its conventional and specialty TV
properties. CTV completed the fall season with 12 of the Top 20
programs nationally in all key demographics, and 4 of the top 5
shows among total viewers. In the key primetime hours, CTV's
average audience was 55% higher than its closest conventional
TV competitor.

-- Bell Media specialty TV properties reached 87% of all
English-language specialty and pay TV viewers in the average
week during Q4 2013 - led by TSN, with higher average audience
levels driven by hockey programming; Discovery, one of Canada's
leading entertainment specialty channels; Space, the #1
specialty network for audience growth among women aged 25-54;
and The Movie Network, Canada's leading primetime pay TV
service.

-- Bell Media maintains its leadership position in Québec with
specialty TV properties reaching over 85% of all
French-language TV viewers in the average week during Q4 2013.
This was led by RDS, the #1 French-language specialty channel;
Canal D, ranked first among all French-language entertainment
specialty channels among adults 25-42, and Canal Vie, with the
highest average weekly reach in the French-language specialty
market for women 25-54.

-- Bell Media ranks first among all Canadian broadcast and video
network online properties and seventh among all online
properties in Canada, with monthly averages of more than 12.2
million unique visitors, 451 million page views, and 114
million videos served.

-- Bell Media also maintained a leadership position in radio,
reaching 1 in 2 Canadians who are listening 6.4 hours per week
on average. Bell Media was the leading radio broadcaster in
Québec, with 25 stations reaching more than 5.7 million
listeners.

-- While Bell was unsuccessful in its bid to extend its National
Hockey League (NHL) national broadcasting rights, which expire
at the end of the 2013-14 NHL season, Bell Media's sports
networks, English-language TSN and French-language RDS, will
continue to be significant players in pro hockey coverage in
both official languages. In addition to long-term broadcast
rights for Toronto Maple Leafs (TSN and TSN Radio 1050),
Winnipeg Jets (TSN and TSN Radio 1290), and Vancouver Canucks
(TEAM 1040), Bell Media recently concluded long-term
broadcasting deals with two more Canadian NHL teams that take
effect with the 2014-15 NHL season:
o In December, RDS and the Montreal Canadiens announced a new 12-year
regional broadcast rights agreement that extends RDS as the
official broadcaster of the Canadiens through the 2025-2026 season.
The agreement includes broadcast rights for 60 regular season games
and additional pre-season games each year, and Bell also retains
naming rights to the storied Bell Centre through 2028.

o In January, TSN and RDS announced a new 12-year regional broadcast
rights and corporate sponsorship agreement with the Ottawa Senators
through the 2025-2026 season. The 12-year partnership includes
English-language regional TV broadcast rights for TSN (minimum of
52 regular season and pre-season games), French-language regional
rights for RDS (minimum of 40 regular season and pre-season games),
and English and French-language radio broadcast rights for all
games. The agreement also strengthens Bell's exclusive corporate
telecommunications sponsorship of the Senators, which includes
community engagement, in-arena branding and promotions, and retail
support through The Source.
-- Bell Media and the National Football League (NFL) concluded a
multi-year extension of their broadcast partnership that will
see more NFL games on more Bell Media channels and platforms
than ever before. Bringing all Sunday afternoon games to CTV
and TSN for the first time. In Fall 2014, Bell Media becomes
the rights holder to NFL football in Canada for all Sunday
afternoon and Sunday night regular-season games, all Monday
night regular-season games, all Playoff Games, and the Super
Bowl. The new agreement also grants Bell Media digital media
rights for the first time, enabling Canadian fans to watch NFL
games and content on Bell Media TV Everywhere platforms
including CTV GO and TSN GO.

-- Bell Media secured a multi-year extension of its partnership
with Vancouver Whitecaps FC that includes TSN becoming the
official Whitecaps FC broadcaster beginning in 2014 and Bell
branding rights for all Whitecaps FC official jerseys and kits.

Bell Aliant

Bell Aliant's revenues decreased 0.9% to $688 million in Q4 2013, as
growth in its Internet and TV services were offset by ongoing revenue
erosion in its traditional local and access and long distance services.
Bell Aliant's EBITDA decreased 2.9% to $305 million this quarter, as a
result of lower revenues and higher operating costs related mainly to
growth of its FibreOP services. Similarly, for the full year 2013, Bell
Aliant revenues and EBITDA declined 0.1% and 1.5%, respectively, to
$2,759 million and $1,272 million.


BELL RESPONSE TO ILLEGAL HACKING AT THIRD-PARTY SUPPLIER

On Sunday February 2, Bell announced that 22,421 user names and
passwords and 5 valid credit card numbers of Bell small-business
customers had been posted on the Internet that weekend. The posting
results from the illegal hacking of an Ottawa-based third-party
supplier's information technology system. In line with our strict
privacy and security policies, Bell disabled all affected passwords,
contacted customers and informed credit card providers. Bell continues
to investigate the matter with its supplier and law enforcement and
government security officials. Bell network and IT systems were not
impacted, and the issue did not affect Bell residential, mobility or
enterprise business customers.


ASTRAL DIVESTITURES UPDATE

On November 28, 2013, Bell announced that it entered into an agreement
with DHX Media Ltd. (DHX) for the proposed sale of its television
services Family Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior (English-language),
and Disney Junior (French-language). In addition, on December 3, 2013,
Bell announced the sale of its two French-language music TV properties,
MusiquePlus and MusiMax, to V Media Group, owner of V Interactions.
With these announcements, Bell has now entered into agreements with
buyers for all of the properties it was required to divest by the
Competition Bureau and the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as part of the Astral transaction
in order to comply with the CRTC's Common Ownership Policy.



In January 2014, we completed the sale of six Bell Media TV services and
two radio stations to Corus Entertainment Inc. (Corus) for total
proceeds of $400.6 million, and three radio stations to Jim Pattison
Broadcast Group Limited Partnership. The completion of the remaining
divestitures of certain Bell Media TV and radio assets, consisting of
proposed sales to Newfoundland Capital Corporation's wholly-owned
subsidiary, Newcap Inc., DHX and V Media Group, remain subject to
approval by the CRTC. These sales are expected to be completed in the
first half of 2014.


BELL LET'S TALK DAY 2014

Bell Let's Talk Day 2014 was a tremendous success as Canadians joined
the mental health conversation with 109,451,718 mobile and long
distance calls, tweets, and Facebook shares on January 28, our fourth
annual Bell Let's Talk Day. With Bell donating 5 cents to mental health
for each message, the company announced an additional investment of
$5,472,585.90 in Canadian mental health. Bell's total commitment to the
cause now stands at $67,515,875.20. Led by Canadian Olympian and Bell
Let's Talk spokesperson Clara Hughes, Bell Let's Talk Day 2014 set new
records for participation - including extraordinary support on Twitter
that made Bell Let's Talk the top Twitter trend in Canada and #3 in the
world.


BCE AWARDED CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AWARD

BCE was honoured with the Best Overall Corporate Governance Award -
International at the sixth annual Corporate Secretary's Corporate
Governance Awards. Competing against a number of high-profile Canadian
and international corporations, BCE was recognized for best overall
governance, compliance and ethics in board structure, shareholder
communications, regulatory filing and other governance operations.


BELL NAMED ONE OF MONTRÉAL'S TOP EMPLOYERS FOR A SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

Bell is proud to be recognized for a second consecutive year as one of
Montréal's Top Employers in the 2014 MediaCorp Canada competition. Bell
was cited for its leadership in workplace mental health, significant
investment in training and professional development, wide-ranging
career possibilities, leading parental support programs, and a share
purchase plan that enables all team members to share in the company's
success. A Montréal-based company since its founding in 1880, Bell is
the largest communications company in Québec and a leading contributor
to the technological, economic and social prosperity of Québec.


COMMON SHARE DIVIDEND

BCE's Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.6175 per
common share, payable on April 15, 2014 to shareholders of record at
the close of business on March 14, 2014.


OUTLOOK FOR 2014

BCE's 2014 financial outlook reflects continued progress in the
execution of Bell's 6 Strategic Imperatives, while maintaining a sharp
focus on our dividend growth strategy, as a transformed Bell continues
to invest significantly in next-generation TV, wireless, Internet and
media growth services, and pursue superior operational execution in the
highly competitive Canadian communications marketplace, to deliver
growth in revenue, EBITDA, earnings and free cash flow



Our 2013 guidance, 2013 results, and financial guidance targets for 2014
are as follows:



__________________________________________________________________
| | 2013 | 2013 | 2014 |
| | Guidance |Results| Guidance |
|______________________|_________________|_______|_________________|
|Bell (i) | | | |
|______________________|_________________|_______|_________________|
|Revenue Growth | 2% - 4% | 2.6% | 2% - 4% |
|______________________|_________________|_______|_________________|
|EBITDA Growth | 3% - 5% | 3.4% | 3% - 5% |
|______________________|_________________|_______|_________________|
|Capital Intensity | 16% - 17% | 16.6% | 16% - 17% |
|______________________|_________________|_______|_________________|
|BCE | | | |
|______________________|_________________|_______|_________________|
|Adjusted EPS | $2.97 - $3.03 | $2.99 | $3.10 - $3.20 |
|______________________|_________________|_______|_________________|
|Free Cash Flow growth | 5% - 9% | 5.9% | 3% - 7% |
|______________________|_________________|_______|_________________|
|Annual common dividend| | | |
|per share | $2.33 | $2.33 | $2.47 |
|______________________|_________________|_______|_________________|
| | 65% - 75% | | 65% - 75% |
|Dividend payout policy|of free cash flow| 69.8% |of free cash flow|
|______________________|_________________|_______|_________________|



(i) Bell's 2014 financial guidance for revenue, EBITDA and capital
intensity is exclusive of Bell Aliant.


CALL WITH FINANCIAL ANALYSTS

BCE will hold a conference call for financial analysts to discuss Q4
2013 results on Thursday, February 6 at 8:00 am (Eastern). Media are
welcome to participate on a listen-only basis. Please dial toll-free
1-866-226-1792 or (416) 340-2216. A replay will be available for one
week by dialing 1-800-408-3053 or (905) 694-9451 and entering pass code
3092522#.



A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available on BCE's
website at: BCE Q4-2013 conference call. The mp3 file will be available for download on this page later in the
day.


NOTES


The information contained in this news release is unaudited.






(1) The term EBITDA does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS.
Therefore, it is unlikely to be comparable to similar measures
presented by other issuers. We define EBITDA as operating revenues
less operating costs, as shown in BCE's consolidated income
statements. We use EBITDA to evaluate the performance of our
businesses as it reflects their ongoing profitability. We believe
that certain investors and analysts use EBITDA to measure a
company's ability to service debt and to meet other payment
obligations or as a common measurement to value companies in the
telecommunications industry. EBITDA also is one component in the
determination of short-term incentive compensation for all
management employees. EBITDA has no directly comparable IFRS
financial measure. Alternatively, the following table provides a
reconciliation of BCE net earnings to EBITDA.










($ millions)

December 31 Q4 2013 Q4 2012 2013 2012

Net earnings 593 765 2,388 2,876

Severance, acquisition and other costs 48 69 406 133

Depreciation 695 693 2,734 2,678

Amortization 160 175 646 714

Finance costs 240 224 931 865

Interest expense 37 32 150 131

Interest on post-employment benefits
obligations (1) (243) 6 (269)

Other income (expense) 226 181 828 760

Income taxes

EBITDA 1,998 1,896 8,089 7,888







(2) The terms Adjusted net earnings and Adjusted EPS do not have any
standardized meaning under IFRS. Therefore, they are unlikely to be
comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. We
define Adjusted net earnings as net earnings attributable to common
shareholders before severance, acquisition and other costs, net
(gains) losses on investments, and premiums on early redemption of
debt. We define Adjusted EPS as Adjusted net earnings per BCE Inc.
common share. We use Adjusted net earnings and Adjusted EPS, and we
believe that certain investors and analysts use these measures,
among other ones, to assess the performance of our businesses
without the effects of severance, acquisition and other costs, net
(gains) losses on investments and premiums on early redemption of
debt, net of tax and non-controlling interest. We exclude these
items because they affect the comparability of our financial
results and could potentially distort the analysis of trends in
business performance. Excluding these items does not imply they are
non-recurring. The most comparable IFRS financial measures are net
earnings attributable to common shareholders and earnings per
share. The following table is a reconciliation of net earnings
attributable to common shareholders and earnings per share to
Adjusted net earnings on a consolidated basis and per BCE Inc.
common share (Adjusted EPS), respectively.







($ millions except per share amounts)

Q4 2013 Q4 2012 2013 2012

Per Per Per Per
Total share Total share Total share Total share

Net earnings
attributable to
common shareholders 495 0.64 666 0.86 1,975 2.55 2,456 3.17

Severance,
acquisition and other
costs 33 0.04 46 0.06 299 0.38 94 0.12

Net losses (gains) on
investments 12 0.02 (248) (0.32) 7 0.01 (256) (0.33)

Premiums on early
redemption of debt - - - - 36 0.05 - -

Adjusted net earnings 540 0.70 464 0.60 2,317 2.99 2,294 2.96










(3) The term free cash flow does not have any standardized meaning
under IFRS. Therefore, it is unlikely to be comparable to similar
measures presented by other issuers. We define free cash flow as
cash flows from operating activities, excluding acquisition costs
paid and voluntary pension funding, plus dividends received from
Bell Aliant, less capital expenditures, preferred share dividends,
dividends/distributions paid by subsidiaries to non-controlling
interest and Bell Aliant free cash flow. We consider free cash flow
to be an important indicator of the financial strength and
performance of our business because it shows how much cash is
available to repay debt and reinvest in our company. We believe
that certain investors and analysts use free cash flow to value a
business and its underlying assets. The most comparable IFRS
financial measure is cash from operating activities. The following
table is a reconciliation of cash flows from operating activities
to free cash flow on a consolidated basis.







($ millions)

Q4 2013 Q4 2012 2013 2012

Cash flows from operating activities 1,838 863 6,476 5,560

Bell Aliant dividends paid to BCE 48 48 191 191

Capital expenditures (1,139) (914) (3,571) (3,515)

Cash dividends paid on preferred shares (31) (39) (127) (133)

Cash dividends paid by subsidiaries to
non-controlling interest (68) (85) (283) (340)

Acquisition costs paid 30 5 80 101

Voluntary defined benefit pension plan
contribution - 750 - 750

Bell Aliant free cash flow (4) (23) (195) (186)

Free cash flow 674 605 2,571 2,428






CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements made in this news release, including, but not limited
to, statements relating to our 2014 financial guidance (including
revenues, EBITDA, Capital Intensity, Adjusted EPS and Free Cash Flow),
our business outlook, objectives, plans and strategic priorities, BCE's
2014 annualized common share dividend, common share dividend policy and
targeted dividend payout ratio, our broadband fibre, IPTV and wireless
networks deployment plans, and other statements that are not historical
facts, are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are typically
identified by the words assumption, goal, guidance, objective, outlook, project, strategy,
target and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as aim, anticipate, believe, could, expect, intend, may, plan, seek, should, strive and will. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the 'safe
harbour' provisions of applicable Canadian securities laws and of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.



Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to
inherent risks and uncertainties and are based on several assumptions,
both general and specific, which give rise to the possibility that
actual results or events could differ materially from our expectations
expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements and that our
business outlook, objectives, plans and strategic priorities may not be
achieved. As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking
statement will materialize and we caution you against relying on any of
these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements
contained in this news release describe our expectations as of February
6, 2014 and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Except
as may be required by Canadian securities laws, we do not undertake any
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained
in this news release, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise. Except as otherwise indicated by BCE,
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 announced or that may occur after
February 6, 2014. The financial impact of these transactions and
non-recurring and other special items can be complex and depends on the
facts particular to each of them. We therefore cannot describe the
expected impact in a meaningful way or in the same way we present known
risks affecting our business. Forward-looking statements are presented
in this news release for the purpose of assisting investors and others
in understanding certain key elements of our expected 2014 financial
results, as well as our objectives, strategic priorities and business
outlook for 2014, and in obtaining a better understanding of our
anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such
information may not be appropriate for other purposes.


Material Assumptions

A number of economic, market, operational and financial assumptions were
made by BCE in preparing its forward-looking statements for 2014
contained in this news release, including, but not limited to:


Canadian Economic and Market Assumptions


-- growth in the Canadian GDP of 2.5% in 2014, compared to
estimated growth of 1.8% in 2013, based on the Bank of Canada's
most recent estimate;
-- a faster pace of employment growth compared to 2013;
-- a sustained level of wireline and wireless competition in both
consumer and business markets;
-- higher, but slowing, wireless industry penetration driven, in
particular, by the increasing adoption of smartphones, tablets
and other 4G devices, the expansion of LTE service in non-urban
markets, the availability of new data applications and
services, as well as population growth; and
-- a relatively stable advertising market for Bell Media.

Operational Assumptions Concerning Bell Wireline (Excluding Bell Aliant)


-- Bell Fibe TV service coverage extended to approximately 5
million households by the end of 2014 as our FTTN, FTTH and
FTTB footprint grows to more than 6 million locations passed;
-- Bell Fibe TV contributing to stronger overall TV subscriber
growth, high Internet attach rates and fewer residential NAS
losses, leading to fewer year-over-year total residential
wireline net customer losses and an increased market share of
three-product households;
-- Increasing wireless and Internet-based technological
substitution;
-- continued large business customer migration to Internet
IP-based systems, sustained competitive intensity in mass and
mid-size business markets and ongoing competitive re-price
pressures in our business and wholesale markets;
-- ARPU growth and flow-through of price increases across
residential products from increasing penetration of
three-product households;
-- ongoing competitive pricing and promotional discounting on
residential and small business wireline service bundle offers
as well as wireless rate plans and devices;
-- achieving sufficient operating cost savings and labour
efficiency gains across the Bell organization to offset costs
related to growth in our Bell Fibe TV subscriber activations
and ongoing wireline voice erosion, in addition to increased
investment in wireless customer retention;
-- an improvement in the performance of our Business Markets unit
from stronger economic and employment growth; and
-- no material financial, operational and competitive consequences
of adverse changes in regulations affecting our wireline
business.

Operational Assumptions Concerning Bell Wireless (Excluding Bell Aliant)


-- Bell Mobility to maintain its market share of incumbent
wireless postpaid net activations;
-- relatively stable year-over-year rate of investment in
subscriber cost of acquisition per gross activation and
retention spending as a percentage of wireless service revenue;
-- blended wireless ARPU growth on higher data usage driven by a
higher mix of postpaid smartphone customers and accelerating
data consumption on 4G LTE networks, as well as increased
access rates on new two-year contracts, offset partly by
declining voice ARPU due to data substitution and competitive
pricing;
-- achieving sufficient operating cost savings and labour
efficiency gains across the Bell organization to offset costs
related to increased investment in wireless customer retention,
in addition to growth in our Bell Fibe TV subscriber
activations and ongoing wireline voice erosion;
-- no material financial, operational and competitive consequences
of adverse changes in regulations affecting our wireless
business; and
-- acquiring 700 MHz wireless spectrum to extend our 4G LTE
network to rural markets to increase coverage to more
Canadians.

Operational Assumptions Concerning Bell Media


-- Full realization of cost synergies from the integration of
Astral into Bell Media; and
-- no material financial, operational and competitive consequences
of adverse changes in regulations affecting our media business.

Financial Assumptions Concerning Bell (Excluding Bell Aliant)


The following constitute Bell's principal financial assumptions for
2014:



-- the maintenance of a relatively stable consolidated EBITDA
margin;
-- increasing wireless EBITDA contribution and margin expansion;
-- an improving year-over-year rate of decline in wireline revenue
and EBITDA;
-- Bell's total post-employment benefit plans cost to be
approximately $310 million, based on an estimated accounting
discount rate of 4.9%, comprised of an estimated above EBITDA
post-employment benefit plans service cost of approximately
$220 million and an estimated below EBITDA net post-employment
benefit plans financing cost of approximately $90 million;
-- total pension plan cash funding of approximately $350 million;
-- cash taxes of approximately $600 million;
-- net interest expense of approximately $750 million;
-- net interest payments of approximately $775 million; and
-- working capital changes and severance and other costs of
approximately $175 million.

Financial Assumptions Concerning BCE


The following constitute BCE's principal financial assumptions for 2014:



-- BCE's total post-employment benefit plans cost to be
approximately $390 million, including approximately $80 million
for Bell Aliant, comprised of an estimated above EBITDA
post-employment benefit plans service cost of approximately
$280 million and an estimated below EBITDA net post-employment
benefit plans financing cost of approximately $110 million;
-- depreciation and amortization expense approximately $115
million higher compared to 2013;
-- net interest expense of approximately $900 million;
-- tax adjustments (per share) of approximately $0.04;
-- an effective tax rate of approximately 26%;
-- non-controlling interest of approximately $280 million; and
-- an annual common share dividend of $2.47 per share.


The foregoing assumptions, although considered reasonable by BCE on
February 6, 2014, may prove to be inaccurate. Accordingly, our actual
results could differ materially from our expectations as set forth in
this news release.


Material Risks


Important risk factors that could cause our assumptions and estimates to
be inaccurate and actual results or events to differ materially from
those expressed in or implied by our forward-looking statements,
including our 2014 financial guidance, are listed below. The
realization of our forward-looking statements, including our ability to
meet our 2014 financial guidance, essentially depends on our business
performance which, in turn, is subject to many risks. Accordingly,
readers are cautioned that any of the following risks could have a
material adverse effect on our forward-looking statements. These risks
include, but are not limited to:



-- the intensity of competitive activity, and the resulting impact
on our ability to retain existing customers and attract new
ones, as well as on our pricing strategies, ARPU and financial
results;
-- our failure to anticipate and respond to technological change,
upgrade our networks and rapidly offer new products and
services;
-- the level of technological substitution and the presence of
alternative service providers, contributing to reduced
utilization of traditional wireline voice services;
-- the adverse effect of new technology and increasing
fragmentation in Bell TV's TV distribution market and
Bell Media's TV and radio markets;
-- variability in subscriber acquisition and retention costs based
on subscriber acquisitions, retention volumes, smartphone sales
and handset discount levels;
-- regulatory initiatives and proceedings, government
consultations and government positions that affect us and
influence our business;
-- economic and financial market conditions, the level of consumer
confidence and spending, and the demand for, and prices of, our
products and services;
-- Bell Media's significant dependence on continued demand for
advertising, and the potential adverse effect thereon from
economic conditions and cyclical and seasonal variations;
-- the complexity of our product offerings, pricing plans,
promotions, technology platforms and billing systems;
-- our failure to carry out wireline network evolution activities,
and to meet network upgrade or deployment timelines within our
capital intensity target;
-- our failure to satisfy customer expectations and build a low
cost operational delivery model;
-- our failure to maintain network operating performance in the
context of significant increases in broadband demand and in the
volume of wireless data-driven traffic;
-- our failure to implement, on a timely basis, or maintain
effective IT systems, and the complexity and costs of our IT
environment;
-- our inability to protect our data centres, electronic and
physical records and the information stored therein;
-- employee retention and performance, and labour disruptions;
-- our failure to implement our strategic imperatives and business
development plans in order to produce the expected benefits,
including to continue to implement our targeted cost reduction
initiatives;
-- ineffective change management resulting from restructurings and
other corporate initiatives, and the failure to successfully
integrate new business acquisitions and existing business
units;
-- increased contributions to post-employment benefit plans;
-- events affecting the ability of third-party suppliers to
provide to us, and our ability to purchase, critical products
and services;
-- the quality of our network and customer equipment and the
extent to which they may be subject to manufacturing defects;
-- events affecting the functionality of, and our ability to
protect, test, maintain and replace, our networks, equipment
and other facilities;
-- in-orbit risks of satellites used by Bell TV;
-- unfavourable resolution of legal proceedings and, in
particular, class actions;
-- unfavourable changes in applicable laws;
-- our capital and other expenditure levels, financing and debt
requirements and inability to access adequate sources of
capital and generate sufficient cash flows from operations to
meet our cash requirements and implement our business plan, as
well as our inability to manage various credit, liquidity and
market risks;
-- our inability to discontinue certain services as necessary to
improve capital and operating efficiencies;
-- our failure to evolve practices and effectively monitor and
control fraudulent activities;
-- the theft of our DTH satellite TV services;
-- copyright theft and other unauthorized use of our content;
-- higher taxes due to new taxes, higher tax rates or changes to
tax laws, and to our inability to predict the outcome of
government audits;
-- health concerns about radio frequency emissions from wireless
devices and equipment;
-- our inability to maintain customer service and our networks
operational in the event of the occurrence of epidemics,
pandemics and other health risks;
-- BCE's dependence on the ability of its subsidiaries, joint
arrangements and other entities in which it has an interest to
pay dividends or otherwise make distributions to it;
-- uncertainty as to whether dividends will be declared by BCE's
board of directors or BCE's dividend policy will be maintained;
-- stock market volatility; and
-- the failure to successfully complete the remaining divestitures
required by the Competition Bureau and the CRTC following the
Astral acquisition.


We caution that the foregoing list of risk factors is not exhaustive and
other factors could also adversely affect our results.



We encourage investors to also read BCE's Safe Harbour Notice Concerning
Forward-Looking Statements dated February 6, 2014, for additional
information with respect to certain of these and other assumptions and
risks, filed by BCE with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory
authorities (available at Sedar.com) and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (available at SEC.gov. This document is also available at BCE.ca.



BCE's Safe Harbour Notice Concerning Forward-Looking Statements dated
February 6, 2014 is incorporated by reference into this news release.
For additional information, please refer to the February 6, 2014
presentations entitled "Q4 2013 Results and 2014 Analyst Guidance Call"
available on BCE's website.


ABOUT BCE

BCE is Canada's largest communications company, providing a
comprehensive and innovative suite of broadband communication services
to residential and business customers under the Bell and Bell Aliant
brands. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading
assets in television, radio and digital media, including CTV, Canada's
#1 television network, and the country's most-watched specialty
channels.



The Bell Let's Talk mental health initiative is a national charitable
and awareness program promoting mental health across Canada with the
Bell Let's Talk Day anti-stigma campaign and significant Bell funding
of community care and access, research, and workplace initiatives. To
learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.



For BCE corporate information, please visit BCE.ca. For Bell product and service information, please visit Bell.ca. For Bell Media, please visit BellMedia.ca.




SOURCE Bell Canada

Bell Canada

CONTACT: Media inquiries:
Jean Charles Robillard
BCE Corporate Communications
(514) 870-4739
jean_charles.robillard@bell.caInvestor inquiries:
Thane Fotopoulos
BCE Investor Relations
(514) 870-4619
thane.fotopoulos@bell.ca


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