BCE Inc.

The stable outlook is based on the strength of the company's operations, which, combined with good cost control, should help spur annual organic EBITDA growth. In addition, we expect the company to generate about C$1 billion of annual discretionary cash flow after dividends, providing BCE with sufficient liquidity to fund its wireless spectrum acquisitions without stressing its balance sheet. Based on these assumptions, we expect BCE's adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio to remain close to 3x through 2020. We could lower the ratings over the next two years if BCE's adjusted debt-to-EBITDA ratio rises above 3.25x, with poor prospects for deleveraging. We believe that this scenario could occur in the near term if the company makes large debt-funded investments or adopts a

...The company will maintain a leading position and a strong customer base in an increasingly competitive domestic market. BCE Inc. is the leading provider of the Canadian telecommunication services with a subscriber base of about 19 million customers. The market position is supported by BCE's No. 1 position in the fixed-line broadband and voice, No. 2 position in wireless, and No. 1 position in video and broadcast television/media. The company's leading position is supported by BCE's strong franchise with solid brand(s), broad distribution, upgraded networks, quad-product bundling capability, and revenue diversity among residential and business customers. We expect the company to continue to maintain its market share across its segment despite intensifying competition in wireless and wireline services owing to BCE's competitive pricing and bundled services....

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