Telus profit rises 10 percent on strong demand

(Reuters) - Telus Corp (Toronto:T.TO - News) (NYSE:TU - News), one of Canada's three top telecommunications companies, reported a 10 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by higher revenue from its wireless and wireline businesses.

The company, which competes with Rogers Communications Inc (RCIb.TO) and BCE Inc (Toronto:BCE.TO - News), said wireless revenue rose 7.5 percent to C$1.69 billion ($1.28 billion).

The company said it added about 81,000 new wireless postpaid, TV and high-speed subscribers in the quarter. Telus serves about 13.7 million customers, according to its website.

Telus raised its second-quarter dividend to 42 Canadian cents per share from 40 Canadian cents it paid in the first quarter.

The company's net income rose to C$415 million ($344.1 million), or 68 Canadian cents per share, for the first quarter ended March 31, from C$377 million, or 60 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the company earned 70 Canadian cents per share.

The Vancouver-based company's total operating revenue rose nearly 5 percent to C$3.03 billion.

Telus' shares had risen 6.5 percent in the past 12 months through their Wednesday closing of C$42.02 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Anet Josline Pinto in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)