MONTREAL - Quebecor Inc. is reporting a 29-per-cent drop in profits in the second quarter despite higher revenues.

The Quebec-based telecommunications company says its net income attributable to shareholders was $123.5 million or 50 cents per share in the quarter, down from $174.9 million or 69 cents per share a year earlier.

It attributed the decrease to the refinancing of debt and lower profits from discontinued operations.

On an adjusted basis, net income from continuing operations were $158.3 million or 65 cents per share, up from $144.9 million or 57 cents per share in the second quarter of 2020.

Revenues for the three months ended June 30 were $1.13 billion, up 12.7 per cent from $1 billion in the year-ago period.

Analysts on average expected Quebecor would report adjusted profits of 62 cents per share on $1.09 billion of revenues, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.

“As the Quebec economy recovered, our sustained efforts and disciplined execution on our business strategies yielded a solid performance in the second quarter of 2021,” stated CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau.

The telecommunications segment posted 6.8 per cent revenue growth to $928.4 million on a 127 per cent increase in wireline equipment, media segment revenues rose to $198.2 million from $132.7 million and sports and entertainment revenues were $33.5 million up from $25.9 million.

Mobile telephone connections increased 1.8 per cent or 27,200 while internet subscriptions increased by 5,300.