Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the 2022 Rogers Communications Annual General Meeting. My name is Jennifer Campos, and I'm the Director of Indigenous Collaboration here at Rogers. I am an Anishinaabe Khoi from Yellow Quill First Nation, with kinship ties to the Métis Nation in the Red River area in Manitoba. I would like to start the meeting with a land acknowledgment to honor our relationship with our hosts. We acknowledge the land we are meeting on is the traditional territory of many nations and is now home to many diverse nations. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit, as we are meeting in Toronto today. I acknowledge that Toronto is in the Dish With One Spoon territory.
The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty with the Anishinaabe, the Mississaugas, and the Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and to protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous nations and people, Europeans and all newcomers, have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship, and respect. And now I'd like to welcome the Chair of the Rogers Board of Directors, Edward Rogers.
Morning, ladies and gentlemen. Jennifer, thank you very much for opening our session here today, and thank you for acknowledging the lands of the nations upon where we sit. My name is Edward Rogers, and I'm Chair of the Board. On behalf of our Board and the Executive Officers of Rogers, I want to thank you for attending this year's Annual General Meeting. While we are hopefully close to the end of the COVID-19 threat, out of an abundance of caution, we are again hosting this meeting on a virtual basis and making it accessible to all. I caution everyone that the presentations and the discussions today may contain forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on assumptions as to the future and on management's current expectations and are naturally subject to risk and uncertainties.
As noted on the cautionary slide, you should look to the Rogers 2021 Annual Report and First Quarter 2022 MD&A. Since my grandfather started the Rogers name and brand in Canada by building radios in the 1930s, and my father founded what is Rogers over 60 years ago, the company has played a critical role in the lives of Canadians from coast to coast and invested heavily in our great country, Canada. Our family and our company have always recognized the importance of long-term investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and it is these values which have helped shape Rogers and has grown into a leading Canadian company, services, and media company that provides world-class services and entertainment to millions of Canadian consumers and businesses across Canada.
Throughout our history, from our very first radio station, CHFI, that Ted bought in 1960 to launch our company, to the first mobile phone call on Cantel in 1985, to the first high-speed data customer at Rogers in 1995, a first in North America, to the latest in wireless 5G and cable DOCSIS 4.0, the importance of the role of connecting Canadians has never been clearer. And this year, their proposed merger of Shaw and Rogers, two storied Canadian companies with a shared vision, is another bold step that will give us the scale and capabilities to accelerate the much-needed investment in our networks across Western Canada, increase choice for consumers and businesses, and bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas of Canada. Combining Rogers and Shaw will create a company that, as one, we will be stronger than we are as two separate companies.
It would allow us to bring our customers, our shareholders, and Canada extensive and meaningful benefits. We can and we will do more, and we will do it faster. We'll build combined cable and wireless networks faster. We'll invest in product innovation, next generation of services, and new businesses faster. We'll bring more vibrant competition to Canada and make Rogers a more effective alternative against Bell and TELUS. Two years ago, we were the first Canadian carrier to launch 5G, and today we have the largest and most reliable 5G network in Canada. In our cable business, our entire footprint can provide at least one gigabit service speeds, and we will move to as much as 10 gigabit speeds with DOCSIS 4.0. This will bring our customers the best experiences wherever they live, work, learn, and play.
We will also continue to expand our networks and invest to advance our plans to bring fast and reliable and affordable connectivity to rural and remote areas of Canada. This is long past due, and in our sports and our media businesses, we are seeing strong growth in 2022 as COVID-19 starts to rescind, and we have great optimism for the future of our sports and media businesses. In short, our strategy is designed to ensure that Rogers continues to have the best wireless, cable, media, and sports assets in Canada, and that we bring unrivaled level of service and value to our customers. Rogers also continues to give back and try to be the very best corporate citizen in Canada that we can be.
Over the last year, we have expanded eligibility for Connected for Success that enables many tens of thousands of Canadians to access this low-cost, high-speed internet service. As part of our efforts focused on giving the next generation the chance to get ahead, we helped hundreds of young Canadians from coast to coast last year realize the opportunity for post-secondary studies with the Ted Rogers Scholarships, and in addition, we awarded almost 100 Ted Rogers Community Grants. In 2021, we took some important strategic steps to strengthen Rogers for the future. These steps included making changes to our board and changes to our management team to improve the performance of our business and deliver on the full potential value creation of the Shaw deal.
As you have seen this morning, our results are already starting to show strong signs of improvement, and we see strengthening across every line of the Rogers businesses. Since Tony's appointment as CEO, Tony and the management team have already made a substantial difference, and our shareholders are showing their support with their shares up a staggering 28%, Tony, in less than five months since you became our CEO, outperforming all of our peer groups and now trading for our company at all-time highs. Earlier this morning, we announced strong Q1 numbers and increased our 2022 outlook for the rest of the year. We believe this demonstrates that Rogers is no longer performing below its peers, and we should not be trading on a multiple less than our peers. Since Tony became our CEO, the Shaw merger proposal has taken great steps forward to getting it done.
Rogers now has full funding for the CAD 26 billion total purchase price, further reflecting investor confidence in the benefits of the Shaw deal and Rogers' renewed commitment to better execution. The CRTC has granted approval for the transfer of the Shaw broadcasting licenses to Rogers, achieving a significant milestone in the journey towards closing our deal with Shaw, and we continue to work with other government agencies and groups on a resolution that meets the objectives of all stakeholders. As we look ahead with our strong focus on performance and execution and a historic opportunity to combine with Shaw, we have the building blocks in place to help us bring long-term growth and generate better returns for our shareholders in the future.
We still have many formidable challenges that lay ahead of us in 2022 and the years after, but I share our shareholders' enthusiasm that we will meet those challenges. I would like to thank our board, our CEO, our management team, and our 23,000 very talented employees across Rogers from coast to coast. Before we get into the formal part of the meeting, I would like to call out a few folks to thank as we embark in the next stage of history of Rogers, one which will reflect a more national cable company with 5G leadership and one of the most valuable sports and media brands and portfolios that you'll find anywhere.
To start, I'd like to recognize and thank my mother, Loretta Rogers, for the enormous contribution she has brought to Rogers in over 50 years of service on our board, to our company, and as the most special of advisors to my father, Ted, through the toughest decades of growth and at times uncertainty. I would like to thank my friend and colleague, Alan Horn. Alan was our CFO for over 10 years. He was our interim CEO twice, and he was our chairman for 11 years. Alan continues to work tirelessly for our board and for our company and for the future. He is a key reason for the growth and the success that our company has had, and Rogers would not be anywhere near the company that we are today without the leadership of Alan Horn.
Phil Lind is our Vice Chairman, and he has been with our company 52 years. I recently told him he was at the halfway mark of his career with Rogers. He does not move as fast as he once did, but his stamina is second to none. His continued commitment and love to our company is second to none. It is a privilege to continue to work with Phil every single day. I want to thank our Lead Director, Robert Gemmell, for being a pillar of strength on our board, a pillar of strength for corporate governance, and for continuing to put the voices of all shareholders first. I want to thank Tony Staffieri for his incredible leadership. Tony is a humble person, extremely hardworking, results-oriented. He's competitive. He's always respectful of others, and he's focused on our customers.
It is an honor to work with him, and Rogers is truly blessed to have someone of the caliber of Tony Staffieri be our Chief Executive Officer. I'd like to thank Robert Dépatie for serving on the Rogers board for almost five years. While we lost him from the board, we were fortunate to have him join the Rogers management team with Tony. Having a person of Robert's experience and achievement join our management team was a home run for Rogers. I would also like to formally welcome Jack Cockwell, Jake Kerr, Jan Innes, Ivan Fecan, and Michael Cooper to our board. They all joined under difficult circumstances, and I want to thank them all for, in a short order of time, they've all already made a gigantic contribution to our board and to our company. Thank you.
I would also like to welcome our new board members up for nomination today, David Robinson and Mohamed Lachemi, who offer Rogers such a broad set of strengths and skills, and I look forward to working with them both. Our commitment to all shareholders is that we will continue to make choices and investments that benefit Canadians, and we will ensure the success of Rogers for decades to come. In accordance with the company's articles, I will act as chair of the meeting, and our Chief Legal Officer, Marisa Wyse, will act as recording secretary of the meeting. I would now like to call the annual general meeting of shareholders of Rogers to order. We will now commence with the formal part of the meeting.
Registered holders of Class A shares and duly appointed proxy holders will have the opportunity to vote via the electronic ballot for any ballot that comes before the meeting. Shareholders who have already voted by proxy do not need to vote a second time unless you wish to change your vote. A voting panel will appear on your screen when it is time to vote on a matter. After we address the motions contained in the meeting materials and consider any other business that might properly come before today's meeting, we will close the formal part of the meeting, and then our President and Chief Executive Officer, Tony Staffieri, will make some comments. We'll then address questions from our shareholders. Shareholders can submit questions throughout the meeting, but we encourage you to submit your questions as early as possible.
To submit a question through the online platform, select the messaging tab at the top of your screen, type your message within the text box at the top of the messaging screen, and then click the send button. Any questions related to the ongoing regulatory approval process with respect to the proposed business combination with Shaw or related to material non-public information about Rogers will not be addressed. I will now appoint Kay Harrison and Lizanne Thomas of TSX Trust Company, Rogers Registrar and Transfer Agent, to act as scrutineers for this meeting. The notice calling this meeting to order and proxy related to this meeting were mailed on March 21st, 2022, to the shareholders of record as of March 1st, 2022.
TSX Trust Company has provided proof of delivery to shareholders as required by the notice and proxy related to this meeting, with the meeting materials and the 2021 annual report and financial statements having been made available to shareholders for notice and access under applicable security laws. I will dispense with reading the formal notice of the meeting. I've also received the scrutineer's initial report on attendance for today's meeting, and I am advised that there are sufficient numbers of shareholders and proxy holders in attendance to constitute a quorum. With notice having been properly given and a quorum being present, I now declare the meeting to be regularly called and constituted for the transaction of business. As noted in the meeting materials, only registered holders of Class A shares or their proxy holders are entitled to vote on matters at today's meeting.
Holders of Class B shares are encouraged to participate during the question and answer period. The first item of business is the presentation of the company's 2021 annual report and consolidated financial statements. I now formally present these items to the meeting, including the report of external auditors, KPMG LLP. Questions related to the financial statements will be addressed after the presentations. The board has fixed a number of directors to be elected at this meeting at 15, but we will now proceed with the election of directors. The nominating committee intends to nominate all the proposed whose names are contained in the meeting materials. I now call on Melinda Rogers-Hickson to make the nominations. Melinda.
I nominate the following persons for election as directors of the company: Jack Cockwell, Michael Cooper, Ivan Fecan, Robert Gemmell, Alan Horn, Jan Innes, John "Jake" Kerr, Dr.
Mohamed Lachemi, Phil Lind, David Robinson, Edward Rogers, Loretta Rogers, Martha Rogers, Melinda Rogers-Hickson, and Tony Staffieri, and move that they be elected directors to hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders.
Ivan Fecan, second the motion.
As no other nominations have been received, I declare the nominations closed, and the number of nominees is the same as the number of directors to be elected. I hereby declare that the individuals nominated have been elected to Rogers Communications Board of Directors until the next annual meeting. The next item of business is a resolution appointing the external auditors of Rogers. I now call on Melinda Rogers-Hickson to make a motion with respect to the appointment of auditors. Melinda.
I move that KPMG LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, be appointed as auditors of the company to hold office until the next annual meeting or until their successor is appointed,
and I, Ivan Fecan, second that motion.
Management has received proxies that represent approximately 97.7% of the corporation's Class A shares. These proxies direct me to vote over 97.7% of the Class A shares in favor of the resolution. If you are a registered holder of Class A shares or a duly appointed proxy holder, please record your vote for the auditors now via the online platform. If you've already voted or sent it in your proxy, there is no need to do anything else unless you wish to change your vote. We will now take a short pause for voting. The voting is now closed. I declare the motion has been carried.
The final voting results will be released later this afternoon. Ladies and gentlemen, as there are no other formal business that has properly been brought before the meeting, I declare the meeting now closed. We will now proceed with some comments from Tony Staffieri, our President and Chief Executive Officer. Following these comments, we will address questions from shareholders. If you have a question, please submit it now. To submit a question through the online platform, select the messaging tab at the top of your screen, type your message within the text box at the top of the messaging screen, and then click the send button. I'm now pleased to call our President and Chief Executive Officer, Tony Staffieri, to say a few words. Tony. Thank you, Edward. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today.
My name is Tony Staffieri, and it is my privilege and honor to be speaking to you today and to serve my fellow shareholders and our board as the company's President and Chief Executive Officer. I'm incredibly proud of the progress we are making as a company and extremely optimistic about the opportunity that lies in front of us. This year will be one of the most significant and exciting for Rogers since it was founded by Ted Rogers over 60 years ago. This morning, we announced the results of our operations for the first quarter of the current year, and I'm pleased to report tangible progress on our performance improvement plan. These results demonstrate the strength of experienced leadership in our whole Rogers team and ability to execute on our previously stated key priorities.
Our market share improvements are translating into strong financials, and they are further improved by our early start to delivering cost efficiencies against a strong economic backdrop. Indeed, robust immigration combined with healthy employment levels signify a country that is back at work, needing more and better connectivity more than ever before. The opportunity ahead for our industry and Canada as a whole is immense. Our confidence in our assets and our execution has translated into increasing our financial guidance for this year, which we shared earlier this morning in our first quarter press release. With our momentum, we continue to see further opportunity for industry-leading revenue, profitability, and cash flow growth in 2022 and beyond. These improving fundamentals further underpin the opportunities we see ahead to drive innovation and competition as we come together with Shaw and leverage the quality of these two iconic companies.
On that front, we've continued to make good progress towards closing the transaction. We've received approval from the CRTC for the transfer of the Shaw broadcasting licenses to Rogers. We've obtained all of the funds necessary for the deal following a record-setting series of debt offerings in the last few months, and we're making early and solid progress on our synergy benefits roadmap. This transaction remains subject to the approvals of two important government bodies, ISED and the Competition Bureau, but we believe the strength of this transaction is compelling for all stakeholders and especially for Canadians. Moving forward, our Shaw acquisition will truly allow Rogers to accelerate innovation and drive competition nationally. Together with Shaw, we will have the ability to do what neither of us could do on our own.
We will have the scale to meaningfully bridge the digital divide, bringing high-speed internet and services to more rural, remote, and Indigenous communities faster than previously thought. Together, we will offer a truly national network, which will mean a second choice for Canadians in every market. More choice means more competition, better service, and more affordability. It's in our entrepreneurial DNA to rise to this challenge, and we have built our franchise over the last 60 years in competing against the large incumbents and intend to continue to do so for our success. At the core of our business is our network, and we are continuing to make the bold investments needed to ensure that we not only lead in Canada but to continue to have world-class networks.
In the first quarter alone, we invested 34% more than we did last year, and this year we will spend close to CAD 3 billion in infrastructure investment in this country. It's a massive undertaking, but a needed one. As you have seen, we have already connected many new communities and key corridors, including the tragic Highway of Tears in British Columbia, where we are bringing the safety and resiliency of our coverage to underserved communities. Our innovative culture, our persistence, and our commitment is what allows us to have leading networks today. In wireless, we're leading in 5G coverage and performance, and as this technology brings new solutions for consumers and businesses, we will be ready to offer the network that is needed and can be relied upon.
In our cable business, we have led the effort and will continue to lead on having the best internet and TV experience, period. Yesterday, we announced a major cable milestone in our 10G initiative, where our tests already demonstrate that we can deliver speeds of eight gigabits for downloads and, incredibly, eight gigabits for uploads on our fiber-powered networks, a truly symmetrical speed tier that is more than double our competition. This technology will become available to customers in the not-too-distant future. Combined with our industry-leading Ignite platform, we are confident we have what it takes to win in the marketplace nationally. Of course, we know that to win in the market, our leading networks and assets alone won't be enough. Our vision continues to be to have the best networks combined with meaningful value propositions delivered as easily and as simply as possible for our customers.
Here, too, we are making progress. This past quarter alone, we invested in our call centers as an example, and we saw our service-level metrics go from industry-lagging to now industry-leading. There's more to do, but we are moving forward. Underpinning our progress are tens of thousands of talented, entrepreneurial, and motivated employees right across Canada. As we come together with Shaw, our renewed focus on execution and a performance-based culture will continue to deliver tangible momentum across our businesses, and I am confident that we will drive sustainable growth and increase value for our shareholders. In closing, I'd like to thank our Chair, Edward Rogers, for his leadership and vision, courage, and determination that set the table for the progress you are seeing here today. To our entire board, our employees, customers, and you, my fellow shareholders, for your continued support.
You can count on all of us here at Rogers to make you proud of our next phase of evolution and growth. The best truly is yet to come.
Thank you very much, Tony. With that said, we will now address any questions that our shareholders may have. Only questions of interest to all will be addressed. If your question is related to your service, a Rogers representative will follow up with you. For your questions, we will ask them in the order to which we get them. To ensure we can address as many as possible, we'll bundle topics that are similar, and we'll try to answer as many as we can. If we don't have the time to answer them all, we will follow up with you right after the meeting to make sure that your question is asked.
As noted earlier, any questions that relate to the ongoing regulatory approval process with respect to the proposed business combination with Shaw, related to material non-public information about Rogers, won't be answered. Paul, do we have any questions?
Mr. Chairman, there are currently no questions in the queue.
Did you open the queue, Paul? Yes, the queue's open.
Okay. Okay. Well, Paul, still nothing?
There are currently no questions in the queue.
Okay. Well, thank you, Paul. Ladies and gentlemen, if there are no questions, this will conclude the Rogers General Meeting. Thank you very much for attending. Thank you for your interest in Rogers. Thank you for taking the time to join us here. Please stay healthy and safe.