| Disclosure of financial objectives that support the entity's long-term strategy |
| | | | | | | | | | | As at, or for the 12-month periods ended, June 30 ($ in millions) | | Objective | | 2024 | | 2023 | Components of debt and coverage ratios | | | | | | | | | | | Net debt 1 | | | | | | $ | 28,179 | | $ | 26,629 | EBITDA – excluding restructuring and other costs 2 | | | | | | $ | 7,318 | | $ | 6,899 | Net interest cost 3 (Note 9) | | | | | | $ | 1,329 | | $ | 1,084 | Debt ratio | | | | | | | | | | | Net debt to EBITDA – excluding restructuring and other costs | | 2.20 | – | 2.70 4 | | | 3.85 | | | 3.86 | Coverage ratios | | | | | | | | | | | Earnings coverage 5 | | | | | | | 1.8 | | | 2.5 | EBITDA – excluding restructuring and other costs interest coverage 6 | | | | | | | 5.5 | | | 6.4 |
| 1 | Net debt and total managed capitalization are calculated as follows: |
| | | | | | | | | As at June 30 | | Note | | 2024 | | 2023 | Long-term debt | | 26 | | $ | 28,151 | | $ | 26,588 | Debt issuance costs netted against long-term debt | | | | | 123 | | | 114 | Derivative (assets) liabilities used to manage interest rate and currency risks associated with U.S. dollar-denominated long-term debt, net | | | | | (7) | | | 72 | Accumulated other comprehensive income amounts arising from financial instruments used to manage interest rate and currency risks associated with U.S. dollar-denominated long-term debt — excluding tax effects | | | | | (205) | | | (90) | Cash and temporary investments, net | | | | | (927) | | | (649) | Short-term borrowings | | 22 | | | 1,044 | | | 594 | Net debt | | | | | 28,179 | | | 26,629 | Common equity | | | | | 15,809 | | | 16,407 | Non-controlling interests | | | | | 1,236 | | | 1,172 | Less: accumulated other comprehensive income amounts included above in common equity and non-controlling interests | | | | | (24) | | | (55) | Total managed capitalization | | | | $ | 45,200 | | $ | 44,153 |
* EBITDA is not a standardized financial measure under IFRS-IASB and might not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other issuers; we define EBITDA as operating revenues and other income less goods and services purchased and employee benefits expense. We report EBITDA because it is a key measure that management uses to evaluate the performance of our business, and it is also utilized to determine compliance with certain debt covenants. | 2 | EBITDA – excluding restructuring and other costs is calculated as follows: |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | EBITDA – | | | | | | Restructuring | | excluding | | | EBITDA | | and other costs | | restructuring | | | (Note 5) | | (Note 16) | | and other costs | Add | | | | | | | | | | Six-month period ended June 30, 2024 | | $ | 3,314 | | $ | 339 | | $ | 3,653 | Year ended December 31, 2023 | | | 6,431 | | | 717 | | | 7,148 | Deduct | | | | | | | | | | Six-month period ended June 30, 2023 | | | (3,209) | | | (274) | | | (3,483) | EBITDA – excluding restructuring and other costs | | $ | 6,536 | | $ | 782 | | $ | 7,318 |
| 3 | Net interest cost is defined as financing costs, excluding employee defined benefit plans net interest, unrealized changes in virtual power purchase agreements forward element, recoveries on long-term debt prepayment premium and repayment of debt, calculated on a 12-month trailing basis (expenses recorded for long-term debt prepayment premium, if any, are included in net interest cost) (see Note 9). |
| 4 | Our long-term objective range for this ratio is 2.20 – 2.70 times. The ratio as at June 30, 2024, is outside the long-term objective range. We may permit, and have permitted, this ratio to go outside the objective range (for long-term investment opportunities), but we will endeavour to return this ratio to circa 2.70 times in the medium term (following the spectrum auctions in 2021 and 2023, and the mmWave spectrum auction upcoming), consistent with our long-term strategy. We are in compliance with the leverage ratio covenant in our credit facilities, which states that we may not permit our net debt to operating cash flow ratio to exceed 4.25:1.00 (see Note 26(d)); the calculation of the debt ratio is substantially similar to the calculation of the leverage ratio covenant in our credit facilities. |
| 5 | Earnings coverage is defined in Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 41-101 as net income before borrowing costs and income tax expense, divided by borrowing costs (interest on long-term debt; interest on short-term borrowings and other; long-term debt prepayment premium), and adding back capitalized interest, all such amounts excluding those attributable to non-controlling interests. |
| 6 | EBITDA – excluding restructuring and other costs interest coverage is defined as EBITDA – excluding restructuring and other costs, divided by net interest cost. This measure is substantially similar to the coverage ratio covenant in our credit facilities. |
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| Disclosure of the dividend payout ratio |
| | | | | | | | For the 12-month periods ended June 30 | | Objective | | 2024 | | 2023 | | Determined using most comparable IFRS-IASB measures | | | | | | | | Ratio of TELUS Corporation Common Share dividends declared to cash provided by operating activities – less capital expenditures | | | | 99 | % | 168 | % | Determined using management measures | | | | | | | | TELUS Corporation Common Share dividend payout ratio – net of dividend reinvestment plan effects | | 60%–75% 1 | | 83 | % | 87 | % |
| 1 | Our objective range for the TELUS Corporation Common Share dividend payout ratio is 60%-75% of free cash flow on a prospective basis. |
| | | | | | | For the 12-month periods ended June 30 (millions) | | 2024 | | 2023 | TELUS Corporation Common Share dividends declared | | $ | 2,210 | | $ | 2,014 | Amount of TELUS Corporation Common Share dividends declared reinvested in TELUS Corporation Common Shares | | | (697) | | | (730) | TELUS Corporation Common Share dividends declared - net of dividend reinvestment plan effects | | $ | 1,513 | | $ | 1,284 |
* Free cash flow is not a standardized financial measure under IFRS-IASB and might not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers; we define free cash flow as EBITDA (operating revenues and other income less goods and services purchased and employee benefits expense) excluding items that we consider to be of limited predictive value, including certain working capital changes (such as trade receivables and trade payables), proceeds from divested assets, and other sources and uses of cash, as found in the consolidated statements of cash flows. We have issued guidance on, and report, free cash flow because it is a key performance measure that management and investors use to evaluate the performance of our business.
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| Schedule of calculation of free cash flow, and the reconciliation to cash provided by operating activities |
| | | | | | | | | For the 12-month periods ended June 30 (millions) | | Note | | 2024 | | 2023 | EBITDA | | 5 | | $ | 6,536 | | $ | 6,453 | Restructuring and other costs, net of disbursements | | | | | 90 | | | 186 | Effects of contract asset, acquisition and fulfilment and TELUS Easy Payment mobile device financing | | | | | (141) | | | (173) | Effect of lease principal | | 31(b) | | | (611) | | | (506) | Items from the Consolidated statements of cash flows: | | | | | | | | | Share-based compensation, net | | 14 | | | 110 | | | 127 | Net employee defined benefit plans expense | | 15 | | | 75 | | | 80 | Employer contributions to employee defined benefit plans | | | | | (26) | | | (35) | Loss from equity accounted investments and other | | | | | 36 | | | — | Interest paid | | | | | (1,264) | | | (1,022) | Interest received | | | | | 37 | | | 23 | Capital expenditures | | 5 | | | (2,718) | | | (3,105) | Free cash flow before income taxes | | | | | 2,124 | | | 2,028 | Income taxes paid, net of refunds | | | | | (305) | | | (560) | Free cash flow | | | | | 1,819 | | | 1,468 | Add (deduct): | | | | | | | | | Capital expenditures | | 5 | | | 2,718 | | | 3,105 | Effect of lease principal | | | | | 611 | | | 506 | Net change in non-cash operating working capital not included in preceding line items and other individually immaterial items included in net income neither providing nor using cash | | | | | (189) | | | (775) | Cash provided by operating activities | | | | $ | 4,959 | | $ | 4,304 |
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