Cogeco Inc. (CGO) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

So the web meeting is now ready to start. I'm in charge of strategy and communication at Cogeco and Cogeco Inc. Welcome to these extraordinary shareholder meeting this year because of the pandemic, which is continuing. We will be holding our meetings in a virtual manner. These will take place in French, simultaneous interpretation in English is available, as you are probably aware. As we did last year, we're using the Lumi platform, a leader in shareholder meeting. When you connect to Lumi, it's important to connect with the unique number that was sent to you on your proxy form. This gives you the right to be recognized as a shareholder or a proxyholder. And it allows you to ask your question via chat. This number is valid for both companies if you are a shareholder of both. Note that you will only be able to vote for the company for whom you hold a proxy or a shareholder. So if you haven't got that unique number, we would invite you to reconnect to the Lumi platform in order to be able to share it or use that number. You can also join as a guest. And so if you have already voted or if you don't wish to vote during the meeting. We would advise you to use a full screen to watch. There is a short delay in communications because this is a web transmission. And so each time we'll be asking for your comments, we will leave a slight delay in order to enable you to communicate with us in a timely manner. Louis Audet as President of the Board, Chairman of the Board will be acting Chair for this meeting. We are accompanied by the CEO, Philippe Jetté, which will make a presentation on the activities and perspectives of both our companies once all the items on the agenda are done, concluded and adjourned. The main administrator of our companies is also with us and also the other members of the Board and of upper management. The scrutineers will be Claire Girard and Steve Gilbert from Computershare to confirm to us that all documents related to both meetings have been sent to the shareholders and that we have quorum for both meetings. Auditors for the Deloitte company are represented here by Marc Perron and Christian Jacques. We will be holding 2 annual meetings today, first of Cogeco Communications Inc. and the head company, Cogeco Inc. We will begin with the more formal of the 2 assemblies. I won't describe the main points, the points. The items on the agenda will be dealt with distinctly for both companies. When we will have disposed of all items, Mr. Audet and Jetté will talk in turn to talk about the business of these companies. To ensure the good business of these procedures, there are certain number of rules that would ask Christian Jolivet to introduce to you.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. The procedure, which is exposed in the circulars, which were tabled on our website and on the website of SEDAR. So if you are a shareholder or proxyholder registered with SEDAR, you can ask your questions electronically or orally to the assembly. The great majority of shareholders have already voted by proxy before the meeting. If you have already voted, you need not vote anymore, unless you wish to change your vote. On the other hand, if you haven't voted yet and if you want to change your vote, you will be able to do so with the icon that you see on your screen. Computershare will be counting the votes in real-time during the meetings and the final report will then be tabled just as in the past on SEDAR's website. We will give the results for all voting shares and secondary shares on SEDAR. If you are a proxyholder and wish to ask questions during the meeting or if you're a shareholder, either you can use the chat on the electronic platform. Your questions will then be read by Mrs. Labrie, our moderator, and answered by upper management. Or you can do so by yourself by using the phone number that you can see on the screen. You will then be put on hold until the operator tells you that you can speak. In order to ensure an orderly meeting, you will be able to ask your questions after the exposé from the Chairman of the Board and CEO. However, if you need to ask a question beforehand, we will give you the opportunity to voice your question. Given that we have shareholder proposals for the Cogeco Inc. meeting, we put in place the necessary technical measures so that the representative of the MEDAC can ask or present his proposal in person. This being said, I now will let Mr. Louis Audet open the meeting of Cogeco Inc. Louis?

Thank you very much, Christian. Dear friends, dear shareholders, members of the Board, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for participating this morning. [Foreign Language] As Christian mentioned it a while ago, we will first begin by the shareholder meeting of Cogeco Communications. And afterwards, we will be looking at the items on the agenda of Cogeco Inc. The first point we have for Cogeco Communications Inc. is to look at the consolidated financial statements for 2021. This is included in the financial statement of 2021, which was sent by mail or by e-mail. Also, on the Lumi platform, there is a link here that can give you access to the Internet version of those documents. So I declare those documents received. Marie-Helene, any questions on those points?

No. Mr. Chairman. I'll let people a few seconds to make sure that there are no. And as far as the financial statements are concerned, I can confirm that there are no questions related to those documents.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. The second point on our agenda is election of the administrators of Cogeco. The Board has set the number of administrators to be, directors to be elected to 10. The names of those are included in the circular. And then the people who are presenting themselves as directors are: Colleen Abdoulah, Louis Audet, Robin Bienenstock, James Cherry, Pippa Dunn, Joanne Ferstman, Philippe Jetté, Bernard Lord, David McAusland, Caroline Papadatos. Can I ask a proposal to that effect?

Mr. Chairman, Caroline Dignard, shareholder. I propose that the 10 people named by you be candidates to be elected to the Board of Cogeco Inc. for a mandate ending at the next general annual meeting at the moment where their successor is duly named and elected.

Mr. Chairman, Annie Miville-Dechêne. I'm a shareholder, and I support the proposition.

Thank you, Annie and Caroline. Any other candidates?

Mr. Chairman, I'm looking at the web platform right now, and I can inform you that there are no other candidates that have come forward.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. We now invite the shareholder to vote if you haven't done so already, and we'll wait a few seconds to enable you to log in your vote. [Voting]

I can tell you now that the proxies that we have already received have been given in favor of each one of these 10 candidates in the proportion of more than 90%. These people are therefore elected to the Board. The next point on our agenda is the nomination of the auditors of Cogeco Communications Inc. Marie-Helene, are there any issues or questions?

Mr. Chairman, I don't see any questions. Perhaps I'll let a few additional seconds to enable people to voice their opinion. There are no questions, sir.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. Can I ask for a proposal to be brought forward?

Mr. Chairman, Caroline Dignard, shareholder. I propose that Deloitte Professional Accountants be named as the auditors of Cogeco Communications Inc. at a mandate ending at the next annual meeting and that the Board be authorized to determine their remuneration.

Mr. Chairman, Annie Miville-Dechêne, shareholder, and I support the proposal.

Thank you, Caroline and Annie. I would now invite the shareholders who haven't already voted to do so now. [Voting]

I will inform you that the proxy votes that we have received so far have been favorable to the auditors by a margin of 90%. I therefore confirm that the resolution relative to auditors are adopted. The next vote is the consultative vote on the remuneration of upper management of Cogeco Communications. You are called now to vote for or against the consultative proposal. Marie-Helene, are there any questions on the subject?

Mr. Chairman, I'm looking at the platform again. Given the transmission delay, I can, nonetheless, confirm that there are no questions on this point.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. May I ask that a proposal be brought forward on this proposal?

Mr. Chairman, Caroline Dignard. I'm a shareholder and I propose that the following consultative resolution be adopted, a purely consultative level and without restraining, restricting the role and responsibility of the Board, the shareholders support the initiative of the company in matters of remuneration of the upper management as described in the circular.

Mr. Chairman, Annie Miville-Dechêne. I'm a shareholder and I support this proposal.

Thank you, Caroline and Annie. We now ask shareholders who have not voted yet to proceed to vote. [Voting]

I will inform you that the proxies that we have received to date have been in favor of the resolution in the proportion of more than 90%. The resolution is therefore carried. The motion is therefore carried. The next point is related to the adaptation of the administrative, modified administrative rules reformulated. Now you are going to vote for or against the resolution as described in the information circular. Marie-Helene, any questions on this point?

About the administrative, modified and reformulated administrative rules, there are no questions at this point.

Thank you very much, Marie-Helene. Can I ask for a proposal to be presented for this motion?

Caroline Dignard, I'm a shareholder. I would propose that the modified and reformulated administrative documentation of Cogeco Communication Inc., which are presented under Annex A of the circular as of 16th of November 2021 be ratified. That each of the directors or other managers of the company receive by this present authorization to give effect to the present resolution.

Mr. Chairman, Annie Miville-Dechêne. I'm a shareholder and I support it.

Thank you, Caroline and Annie. I would now call on the shareholders to vote if they have not done so yet. [Voting]

I would inform you that the proxies that we have received to date have been in favor of the resolution by a proportion of more than 90%. The resolution is therefore adopted. This concludes the point described in the agenda of the annual meeting of Cogeco. The formal part of this meeting is therefore closed. And given that voting is also closed, the scrutineers will compile the results and the company will publish them on SEDAR. We will now go on to the agenda for the assembly of Cogeco Inc. The first point, the first item on our agenda is to receive the financial statement that we have received for the year ending 31st of August 2021 and also the auditors' report related to it. This has been put up on the Internet for shareholders to review or they have received it through mail. There's also a link on the Lumi platform directing you to the website of Cogeco, where you can consult. I therefore declare these documents duly received. Marie-Helene, any questions on this point?

Well, related to the financial statements of Cogeco Inc., we have received no questions on the platform.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. The next item on our agenda is the election of the administrators or directors of Cogeco Inc. The Board has determined that 9 administrators should be elected. And the biographies of each one is included in the information circular. The 9 people who present themselves as directors is: Louis Audet, Arun Bajaj, Mary-Ann Bell, James Cherry, Patricia Curadeau-Grou, Samih Elhage, Philippe Jetté, Normand Legault, David McAusland. Can I ask for a proposal to be put forth to this effect?

Mr. Chairman, Elizabeth Alves. I'm a shareholder, and I propose that the 9 people previously named be candidates in view of election to the Board of Directors of Cogeco Inc. for a mandate ending at the next shareholder meeting or at a time where their successor is duly elected or named.

Mr. Chairman, Annie Miville-Dechêne, a shareholder and I support the proposal.

Thank you, Elizabeth and Annie. Any other candidates?

Mr. Chairman, I'll let a few seconds go by. For the moment, there are no other candidates on the platform. And here we are dealing with the election of the administrators of Cogeco Inc., and I confirm to you that there are no other candidates.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. I will now invite the shareholders who have not had the opportunity to vote, and we will wait a few minutes, a few seconds, sorry. [Voting]

I would inform you that the proxies that we have received to date have been given in the proportion of more than 90% in favor of each of the 9 candidates. And therefore, they are elected. Next point, the next item is the consultative vote on the remuneration of the managers of Cogeco Inc. You are now called upon to vote for or against. This resolution is described in the circular of information. Marie-Helene, is there any, well, about the consultative vote on remuneration of Cogeco Inc.?

We have no questions, sir.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. Can I ask that a proposal be brought forward to this effect?

Mr. Chairman, Elizabeth Alves, I'm a shareholder, and I would propose that the consultative resolution be adopted in a advisory manner and without restricting the role and responsibility of the Board, the shareholders support the initiative of the company in matters of the remuneration of its managers as described in the information circular of the company during the present annual meeting of shareholders.

Mr. Chairman, Annie Miville-Dechêne, and I support the proposal.

Thank you, Elizabeth and Annie. I would now invite the shareholders to proceed to the vote. [Voting]

I would inform you that on the basis of proxies received to date, those were 90% favorable to this resolution. It is therefore adopted. The next item on our agenda is the vote on ratification and approval of administrative, modified and reformulated rules of Cogeco Inc., whose content is found under Annex A of the information circular that was sent to shareholders who are now called upon to vote for or against the resolution as described in the information circular. Marie-Helene, are there any questions on this point?

Mr. Chairman, about the administrative, modified and reformulated administrative rules, I inform you that there are no questions on this item.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. Can I ask for a proposal to be put forward?

Mr. Chairman, Elizabeth Alves, a shareholder. I propose that the modified and reformulated rules of Cogeco Inc. that are presented and described under Annex A of the information circular dated 16th of November 2021 be ratified and approved and that each of the administrators or managers of the company receive the authorization and the order in the name of the company to take all measures in order to give it and put this resolution in effect.

Mr. Chairman, Annie Miville-Dechêne, shareholder, I support the proposal.

Now I would invite the shareholders to vote if they have not done so yet. [Voting]

And I would inform you that on the basis of the proxy votes we have received to date, the resolution is adopted in the proportion of more than 90%. Thank you. I would now invite the representative of the MEDAC, Mr. Willie Gagnon, who will present the 3 proposals described at Annex B of the circular of information of the company. We will hold the votes separately on each one of them. Mr. Gagnon, welcome. Can you present the first proposal?

Yes. Hello, Mr. Chairman. I hope that you can hear me clearly.

Yes, very clearly.

Very good, very good. My name is Willie Gagnon. I'm here in the name of the MEDAC as every year. Today, I'm sick. I got COVID. I hope you'll recognize my voice, but thanks to the fact that we're in a virtual meeting, I will not contaminate anyone. We brought forward 3 proposals or in fact, 4 proposals to Cogeco, 3 are submitted to the shareholder vote today. And I understand that you want us to deal with 3 of them separately. And I will surely have something to say about the one that we decided not to put to the vote. The first one is to propose that Cogeco publish in the form of writing the statistics concerning women in its first echelon, upper echelon of the company. What we wanted to know was the number of women in the different management positions. We understand from your answer that you say that what you are divulging right now respects the law. We understand that, but we were asking a little further than what the law requests. We would have asked that you provide the qualitative information on that data. The fact that statistically women are in part-time jobs and more often than not, more often than men, they have to take parental leave, which constitute an impediment to their progression in management positions. So we wanted to know what the measures that the company has taken to stop these problems. We believe that the shareholders would be in favor of our proposal. And in spite of the fact that you have a lot of common sense in your answer, but nonetheless, we would have wanted that the company divulge more information. So I would therefore ask you to go on to the vote, and then I will talk to you about my next proposal.

Thank you, Mr. Gagnon. First of all, I just want to confirm to you that the company, I think, is perfectly aligned with the objectives that you're pursuing. Nonetheless, the Board did not judge apropos to recommend to our shareholders to vote in favor. And I would like to give you some details about that. First of all, there's no doubt that during the pandemic women suffered more than men in the workplace. I would nonetheless mention that at Cogeco Inc., we are missing personnel. So our people are very busy. I would signal also that we've adopted a policy on equity, diversity and inclusion so as to treat everybody on the same level, at the same fairness. We've also hired a Director, Julie Branscombe, which is the Director in Diversity and Inclusion and whose mission it is to make sure that everybody is treated in an open manner and that we be as an entity, a very open company. As far as divulging information is concerned, we have excellent information on women in our workforce, and there will be further details developed in our ESG report in March. And we will have information on women in upper management situation, distinguishing between directors and VPs. Now that's our position there. Are there any other comments?

Mr. Chairman, I'll let a few seconds more to see if there will not be any subsequent comments. We'll pause it here. So I confirm that there are no additional comments dealing with this proposal.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. I will now invite the shareholders who have not had time to vote to do so at this time. [Voting]

I would inform you that on the basis of the proxies that we've received so far, they went 96% against the proposal. And therefore, this proposal is defeated. I would invite Mr. Gagnon to present the second proposal brought forth by MEDAC.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. We're very happy to see that some of the measures that we were requesting will be applied in spite of the fact of the 96% of votes against our proposal. We are nonetheless very happy to see that you're adopting some of the measures. Our second proposal would include more employees in decision-making and involve employees in the decision-making of the Board, strategic decision-making by the Board, without ignoring that in some countries, such as France, Germany, less so in the U.S. but also in the U.K., there are all types of mechanisms in order to take into account the interest and the opinion of the employees when strategic decisions are implied, which affect the company over a long period of time. We would have thought that the Board, and this is something that we sent to all companies that we have in our portfolio, that the whole of companies that are publicly traded in Canada would look at this in detail, that is to better take into account the interest of their employees when they have strategic decisions to make. I think that we understand that in your case, you send brief surveys to your employee on all kinds of questions, which deal with their direct interest, but we do not see in your answer that you're dealing with strategic decision-making. So what we would have wished is that mechanisms would be put into existence for the specific type of strategic decision-making opportunities. I don't know what you're going to tell me today. I understand that you're opposed to our proposal, but we would invite the whole of the shareholders to support it. We would simply encourage you to think it through, and we believe that this is a reasonable request in any case.

Thank you, Mr. Gagnon. I think that we've understood the nature of your request quite well. The Board has already expressed itself on this subject and has decided to vote against. And there are many reasons for this. I believe the most important is that if the situation that we've seen in North America, where these types of representations exist, it becomes a specific interest whose interest are being promoted. So each administrator on our Board is independent and must behave to the best interest of the company and not to a specific group. And this is why we have recommended to our shareholders to vote against this. However, you've noticed that we are preoccupied today what our employees think in relationship to their working conditions, to their work, to their responsibilities, the tools that they have in order to do their work because we are perfectly aware that employees that are happy at work are more susceptible to make our clients happy. And so in 2 words, this is the position of the Board. Marie-Helene, are there any other comments or questions on this issue?

Mr. Chairman, concerning the second proposal by Mr. Gagnon, and I'll leave a few seconds to validate further comments, I can inform you that there are no further comments on his proposal.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. I would now invite shareholders who did not have the opportunity to vote on this item to do so now. [Voting]

I can inform you that the proxies that we have received so far have gone 99% against the proposal. And so the proposal is defeated. I would ask Mr. Gagnon to present the third proposal by MEDAC.

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Before I go on to present the proposal, I would say that the proposal concerning the, given the remuneration of upper management, we withdraw it, but you nonetheless printed it, and we're happy to see it in that annex. Now the proposal I'm going to put forward is one that we come back with year after year. Our arguments remain the same as usual. I will not repeat them. You'll understand that they haven't changed. You have the same auditors since 1957. I will not repeat that this is a long time before I was born. And so I understand, I have a difficulty understanding that you don't change your auditors at least once in my life at Cogeco. I think that this would be healthy. I'm not saying that you don't have a good relationship with Deloitte. I'm not saying that you're doing bad work with Deloitte. I'm just saying that it's a bit shocking for the mind. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Gagnon. It is obvious that Deloitte as auditors has an excellent understanding of our company and therefore, can give excellent services to our shareholders. I understand that some significant part of, some people are asking for a change, but we consider that this is not significant enough not to change. And therefore, the Board has voted against it. Marie-Helene, are there any questions or comments on the proposal?

I will let a few more seconds, Mr. Chairman. There are no comments, Mr. Chairman, on this proposal.

Thank you, Marie-Helene. I would invite the shareholders that haven't had time to vote, now vote on the proposal. [Voting]

And I would inform that on the basis of the proxy votes received so far, they have gone against the proposal in the proportion of 98%. The proposal is therefore not adopted. Thank you, Mr. Gagnon, for your presence and your interest in the good governance of the Cogeco family of companies. The next point is the nomination of the auditors of Cogeco. Concerning the auditors, so looking at my screen given the short time that people have.

So on this point, I inform you that there are no other questions.

May I ask for a proposal to be put forward?

Mr. Chairman, Elizabeth Alves, a shareholder. I would propose that Deloitte Professional Accountants be named auditors until the next meeting of shareholders and that the Board be authorized to determine variable remuneration.

Annie Miville-Dechêne, Mr. Chairman, and I also support the proposal.

Thank you, Elizabeth and Annie. And I would invite the shareholders to vote. [Voting]

And I will inform you that on the basis of the proxy votes received to date, the nomination of the auditors has been approved by more than 90% of the vote. This concludes, dear shareholders, the items on our agenda for Cogeco Inc. The formal part of Cogeco Inc.'s annual meeting is now closed. The scrutineers will compile the final results of the votes and we'll therefore publish them on SEDAR. Marie-Helene, do you have any other comments before we go on to our exposés?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Audet and Jetté will now speak to you to talk about the business of the 2 companies. These presentation will be bilingual. I would remind you it is usual and mentioned here that these exposé might contain prospective information as per the securities law, and therefore, they are presented under the usual reservations that are presented in information, in the company information.

Dear shareholders, and before I give, hand it over to Philippe Jetté, President and CEO of Cogeco, I would take a few minutes to give you a broad picture of an agile exercise which ended at end of August. I'm happy to see that our company was able to face with determination this year which was quite difficult. Under the leadership of Philippe Jetté, the upper management team of Cogeco guided our company through an industry of communications and media in constant evolution and obviously within the context of this unique situation of the pandemic. The resilience of our teams both in Canada and the United States, we've been able to continue strengthening our position here and south of the border. Commitment to our customers is part of our core values. At times of uncertainty, customers want to know that they can rely on a trusted supplier that does everything possible to meet their needs. Social engagement is second nature to us, and we continue to work to create a positive impact on the communities we serve beyond the strict delivery of our services. Not only do we provide top-quality services and constantly strive to innovate but we do so responsibly. Cogeco is profitable with one of the highest EBITDA margins in the industry and has generated dividends with a compound annual growth exceeding 12% for Cogeco Inc. and 10% for Cogeco Communications for the last 5 years. Financial 2021 was a year of growth and of impressive achievement for our companies and for our shareholders and the 11 somewhat communities throughout North America that we serve. With a presence in Quebec, in Ontario and then in 12 U.S. states in the United States, Cogeco offers a perspective for investment which is unique in the telecommunications universe in North America. Our steady growth and our continuing acquisitions in Quebec and Ohio demonstrate our success and the achievement of our growth strategy. Our Boards are models in matters of diversity and balance, and I'm very proud to see that our practices of governance are recognized year after year, especially these are recognized advantageously as one of the best within the companies that have 2 shares or dual shares and are dominated by families as was reported in The Globe and Mail's annual Board Game report. The provision of environmental, social and governance issues was transferred from the Governance Committee to the full Board of Directors in early fiscal 2022. The Board is now reviewing the company's strategy, goals and results in these areas as well as related initiatives on a quarterly basis. On a related note, I'm very pleased to announce that Cogeco unveiled its first climate action plan a few weeks ago. At the time it was announced, CDP, the Climate Disclosure Project, an internationally recognized organization, gave Cogeco its prestigious A score for leadership and environmental transparency. Moreover, Cogeco is the only North American company in its sector of activities to have received this on. As always, I would like to thank our Board of Directors for their continued trust, wisdom and invaluable support. Cogeco's dual-class share structure, which gives the Audet family control through its multiple voting shares, ensures this strong, stable company has a long-term outlook and benefits from sound stewardship underpinned by the long-standing principles of performance and respect to name a few. As current events confirm, the North American telecommunication landscape needs strong regional players such as Cogeco, which fills an important, increasingly important role by offering greater choice to consumers in a rapidly evolving industry. Our recent achievements show the impact we have, and I look forward to the future with great enthusiasm. We will continue to concentrate on value creation and maintaining our position as a leader. Allow me to conclude on a more personal note. Just as we had foreseen in the succession plan, as of last September 1, after a transition period of 3 years, I will leave the post of Executive President of the Board to become President or Chairman of the Board. The success and the growth which has accompanied our company during this period confirms to me that the existing management team with Philippe Jetté at its head share the same passion that I did for Cogeco. I am reassured to see that this passion is also shared by our 4,400 members of our personnel. Together, they're leading Cogeco towards new summits. Thank you to all of you. And I will now hand it over to Philippe Jetté who will share our achievements and the major projects that we have in mind for the next year. Philippe?

Thank you, Louis, for the words. Dear shareholder, members of the Board of Cogeco and Cogeco Communications, guests, colleagues, thank you for being with us today in a virtual manner for these annual shareholder meetings. 2021 fiscal year was marked by substantial achievements that further strengthened Cogeco's unique position in North America. And it is under the theme growing stronger every day that I present our achievements and our coming priorities. During the year, we took advantage of strategic opportunities as we concluded 2 significant acquisition in the broadband service sector, launched an unprecedented network expansion program and further advanced the development of our plan to provide wireless services in Canada in the context of the pandemic, which brings with it a lot of share of challenges. We continue to enhance the customer experience, adapt our work practice and solidify the foundations of our digital and analytics capabilities while stabilizing our radio operations, which were hit hard early in the pandemic. Our teams across Canada and in the United States have worked tirelessly, showing great initiative, creativity and flexibility to ensure that we maintain top quality connectivity service and continued access to information and entertainment. We can be proud of what we've accomplished. Throughout the year, we focused our efforts on our 5 pillars of strategic growth, providing a distinctive consumer experience, fostering a highly collaborative, engaging and inclusive work environment, expanding our geographic scope and developing new market segments, optimizing operational efficiency and building a strong, socially responsible brand. I'd like to talk to you about some of our key achievements that are paving the way to sustainable growth. First of all, Cogeco Communication is continuing its growth strategy through acquisition while maintaining a strong financial position. In December 2020, Cogeco Connexion completed the acquisition of DERYtelecom, the third largest cable operator in Quebec now serving about 108,000 additional customers. In late June 2021, Atlantic Broadband announced an agreement to acquire the networks of WideOpenWest covering 689,000 households and businesses in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio and serving some 200,000 customers. We finalized this acquisition on September 1 and have begun work on integration. This acquisition enables us to expand our operations in the United States and position us favorably to pursue a market expansion strategy. Regarding our network expansions, Cogeco Connexion announced several projects in unserved and underserved regions in Quebec and Ontario. Most of these expansions project are being conducted in collaboration with government entities to reduce the digital divide between large urban centers and less populated areas. In Ontario, we already have 9 high-speed Internet network expansion projects in various communities, which are being developed in collaboration with the governments of Ontario and Canada. In Quebec, the 13 high-speed Internet network expansion projects that we are working on in several regions in partnership with the governments of Quebec and Canada are also progressing well. In the United States, Atlantic Broadband is accelerating the expansion of its networks area in areas that have strong growth potential, along with demographics well suited for their deployment. We also plan to take advantage of government funding programs for certain network expansions in more rural communities. In Canada, for our potential entry into wireless service markets, we acquired 3 new spectrum licenses in Quebec and Ontario in the auctions of the 3,500 megahertz band. These acquisitions boost our spectrum coverage to 91% of our broadband service footprint. This represents a population of 3.6 million Canadian. These spectrum investment came after the CRTC had announced a new and unprecedented regulatory framework, enabling national or regional rather players like Cogeco to invest in communication and broadband, to rent, to have access to wireless network main provider that's strategic. The spectrum acquisition, combined with our strong and relatively expanding regional broadband network and with the CRTC ruling, are enabling us to continue developing our plan to enter the mobile wireless service market in a financially disciplined manner. In the media sector, Cogeco Media worked throughout the year to maintain its financial discipline in light of the pandemic's continuing impact on the advertising market. Because of the quality of its programming, the loyalty of its listeners and the economic recovery, partial economic recovery, Cogeco Media managed to improve its performance and to see some of its radio stations ranked at the top of the Numeris ranking during the year. In May, Cogeco Media announced that it reached an agreement to sell 2 radio stations to Arsenal Media, 2 radios that it had in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue area and acquire CILM Radio, which was owned by Arsenal Media in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area. In June, we were delighted to greet Caroline Paquet into the Cogeco family as President of Cogeco Media. Her broad media and marketing experience and her unifying leadership are helping Cogeco strengthen its media presence in the Quebec radio landscape. At Cogeco, social engagement and the development of communities have long been at the heart of all our actions. We have an ambitious corporate social responsibility program that aims to implement the best ESG practices. As part of our philanthropic commitments, we pledge to offer donations in the amount of 1% of Cogeco's pretax earnings each year. But during the fiscal 2021 year, we went beyond our commitment by donating $17 million and supporting 700 local nonprofit organizations in the communities we serve. Our philanthropic leadership was recognized for a second year in a row by Imagine Canada, which granted us its Caring Company Certification. In June, we unveiled Cogeco's commitment to diversity and inclusion with the establishment of our D&I leadership council, which reports to me and is composed of key management and executives from across the organization as well as the hiring of a new Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. We have refined our strategy, accelerated our actions, strengthened our accountability in this area. We're also proud to have once again achieved our goal of having women accounting for at least 35% of management position. The year 2021 also gave us the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to fighting climate change with the unveiling of our new science-based emission reduction target, making us the first Canadian telecom company to set an ambitious emission reduction target in accordance with the actions needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degree Celsius. And this as approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative. Faced with the current climate emergency, we are taking this as an extra step, including our ambition of achieving net zero emission across our value chain by the year 2050. During the COP26 meetings, we earned the inaugural Terra Carta Seal alongside 44 other companies worldwide, of which only 3 were Canadian and over 12 were Canadian. This seal recognizes a company that foster innovation and that demonstrate a commitment and motivation toward creating truly sustainable markets. In 2021, we were proud once again to rank among the world's 100 most sustainable corporations according to Corporate Knights. Cogeco Communications is also listed in the Corporate Knights annual ranking of the Best 50 Canadian Corporate Citizens for the third year in a row. Finally, one of the finest examples of our commitment to making a difference in our communities is beyond a doubt the holding of our first Cogeco Community Involvement Day under the theme Planting Roots in Our Communities with nearly 1,900 trees or seeds that were planted by our employees in Quebec, Ontario and the United States to support 16 community organizations during this special day dedicated to supporting our communities. Before discussing the outlook for 2022 fiscal, I'd like to present a few highlights of our financial results for the first quarter ended November 30, 2021. The results announced yesterday after the market close put us on to meet our financial objectives. Looking first at Cogeco Inc., let's highlight that the fiscal year ended August 31, 2021 saw an increase in revenue of 5% and adjusted EBITDA of 4.9% and a profit growth of 9.3%. Dividends paid to our shareholders rose 14.7% to reach $2.18 per share. And for the first quarter ended November 30, 2021, an increase in revenue of 15.3%, an increase in adjusted EBITDA of 10.4%, a decrease in profit of 1.1% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. As far as Cogeco Communication is concerned, we're talking about an increase in revenue of 5.3%, an increase in the adjusted EBITDA of 5% and profit growth of 8.8%. Dividends paid to shareholders increased by 10.3% to reach $2.56 per share. For the first quarter ended November 30, 2021, an increase in revenue of 16.1%, an increase in adjusted EBITDA of 12.3%, a profit growth of 1.5% compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year. We have started our fiscal year 2022 on solid ground, and we expect that organic year-over-year EBITDA growth will gradually improve throughout the fiscal year as we had an unusually strong first half in fiscal year 2021. The ongoing trend of customers spending more time at home for work, education and entertainment should continue to have a positive impact on our growth outlook. Looking ahead, we are pursuing our strategy built around 3 growth vectors to leverage our unique North American broadband service platform, our reliable and resilient networks and our financial discipline. In terms of organic growth, we strive to stand out from the competition and to offer top-quality services by providing a distinctive customer experience. We also seek to fulfill our network expansion projects already underway and to add other projects. As a consolidator of regional cable operators, attractive and strategic acquisitions are another growth vector, both in Canada and in the United States, where we can add value because of our operational expertise. We continue to innovate and to invest in improving our product and services to our customers' benefit, fueled largely by the digital transformation initiatives, innovation remains an important growth vector for us. Now let's turn our attention to some of our fiscal 2022 priorities for various business units. For Cogeco Connexion, this represents a continued investment in our network to maintain optimal reliability and sustained performance and also offer WiFi experiences that are positioning Cogeco as the preferred provider of home connectivity. Optimizing our broadband service is at the heart of the consumer experience that we seek to provide. Cogeco Connexion is continuing to roll out its new IPTV service, EPICO, by gaining new customer segments and increasing its availability, especially among DERYtelecom customers. Given that high-speed Internet is our key service, we will keep striving to provide the most reliable connection at all time to expand our 1-gigabit coverage across our territory. Cogeco is pursuing its ambitious network expansion plan that includes participating in government programs to provide broadband access to unserved or underserved areas, expansion to about 3% of the homes served in Canada by the end of fiscal year. Cogeco Connexion will connect roughly 75,000 homes during the next 3 fiscal years, gradually narrowing the digital access gap between major urban centers and rural areas. We will be drawing up on artificial intelligence to better understand and serve our customers. Further to this, we will continue to enhance our data analytics capabilities and we'll introduce new marketing automation capacities to determine the next best action in our customers. [Foreign Language] Advertising campaign in Ontario. Not only do these women and men represent who we are and what we do, but our colleagues are also demonstrating the major impact we have in our communities. Allow me to introduce some of them starting in one of our most recent ad campaign. [Presentation]

During 2022, we will also continue to develop our plans for entering the mobile wireless market under the right conditions. Cogeco has always demonstrated an ability to invest where the conditions are right. The CRTC regulatory framework allowing access to the national players network is currently under development. Our ability to benefit from it will depend on 2 key factors: approval by the CRTC of reasonable terms and conditions to access the national players network and the negotiation of reasonable rates with them. In the 2022 fiscal year for our U.S. business unit begin with the integration of the Ohio broadband systems, our new colleagues and the technical and operational system. We are also looking to expand our network in adjacent cities that offer attractive growth potential. In this regard, Atlantic Broadband recently announced that it will be investing USD 82 million in the current fiscal year to extend its coverage to nearly 70,000 additional homes and businesses in various communities in New Hampshire and in West Virginia. We will continue to implement and refine our new Internet First offer strategy and to invest in our network to enhance its reliability and redundancy. We will maintain our customer focus and will rely on data analytics to optimize the services we offer our customers, among others by providing an enhanced online experience. We also plan to launch and gradually rollout an IP television service very soon. We will also speed up investment in digital transformation initiatives to offer customers a multichannel experience. We will encourage them to use self-installation services through advanced customer communications and diagnostic tools. In fulfilling these goals, it is important to be supported by a strong brand. In this regard, I am proud to announce that a new brand identity for our U.S. business was launched just a few days ago. We're now operating under the Breezeline name in that market. The new name is intended to show that we deliver more than broadband services and that our operations now extend beyond the East Coast. It also evokes movement, which is symbolic for high-speed connectivity and the ease with which customers can interact with us. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is the very first Breezeline advertisement. [Presentation]

Finally, at Cogeco Media, we're pursuing our efforts to continuously improve our programming and to diversify our product offering in order to grow our market share and with that, increase our profitability. Digital transformation and enhanced listener experience backed by reliable technology will be at the heart of our priorities. Our radio stations continue to perform well as the latest Numeris result show. For example, our Montreal talk show 98.5 recently obtained its best-ever result as well as ranking. Once again was the most listened to radio station in Canada. Sister station CKOI ranked the second among music stations in Canada. We can be extremely proud of the work accomplished by our teams. Our new ESG and sustainable development report in which we'll present an update for our performance indicators and further information on our ESG strategy will be published in March. Going forward, it will be published annually. [Foreign Language] As you can see, fiscal 2022 is looking very promising. Before concluding this business review, I'd like to take a moment to recognize the very substantial contribution that Louis Audet has made to Cogeco's reputation. On September 1, in keeping with a carefully conceived transition plan, Louis became Chairman of Board of Directors after having been Executive Chairman for 3 years. It is now more than 40 years since Louis joined Cogeco, the firm his father founded in 1957. He held various positions up to 1993, the year he was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogeco. For 25 years, he guided the company's growth as it went from $4 million in revenues to more than $2.4 billion in 2018. He has overseen about 40 acquisitions and have shown extraordinary resilience when challenges arose along the way. When I joined Cogeco in 2011, I met a man of heart and conviction with a tremendous ability to convey a clear vision and strong values to his team, leaving no choice but to want to follow him in his desire to make Cogeco a market leader. It's a real privilege for me to have been chosen to take over from him as the head of Cogeco. He has been a true mentor for me and has shown great generosity in sharing his experience and his passion with me day after day. This support is invaluable for me to further his vision and lead Cogeco to even greater heights. Louis, I thank you sincerely for your enormous contribution to our company. And I pledge on behalf of Cogeco's 4,400 employees to spare no effort to continue your work as you have always done with rigor, determination and respect. Thank you, Louis. To conclude, the 2021 fiscal year was a time of many challenges, but it also provided new possibilities. It is said that adversity can lead us to achieve great things. This year was marked by great achievements that strengthened Cogeco further and the achievements serve in turn as a springboard to growth that will continue in 2022 and beyond. [Foreign Language] Rooted in communities and coming up to 65 years of history, we are now the second biggest cable operator in Quebec and Ontario and the eighth largest in the U.S. and we operate the largest private radio network in Quebec. I'm proud of our talented team which embodies on a daily basis Cogeco's values, which are innovation, commitment to customers, teamwork, social engagement and respect. Each day, we make a difference in people's lives. Each day, our investments in digital infrastructure, in our products and services help bring people together and support vital everyday activities while fostering a modern economy, inclusive growth and a better future. I wish you a good day.

Thank you, Philippe, for this excellent exposé of our activities and the future perspective for our companies and also thank you for the kind words you had for me. In the name of the Board and in my personal name, I wish to thank you, you and your team, for the excellent work that was accomplished and for the magnificent projects that await us. It is clear that with you and our team, our companies are in good hands. We're now going to go on to the question period. And you can ask your question either through the chat or with the telephone line where you can find it under the tab Information. Let a few seconds go by to see if there are any questions and then we'll proceed.

Mr. Chairman, I'm looking at the platform. And for the moment, there are no questions. So perhaps we can leave a few more seconds, perhaps somebody is trying to connect right now. There are absolutely no questions that have come in and so there are no questions.

Thank you very much, Marie-Helene. Well, this concludes the shareholder meetings of Cogeco and Cogeco Communication Inc. Thank you, everyone, for having participated in these annual meetings. So take care of yourself and wish you a good and healthy year and see you next year. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]