SGI, SaskTel both highly profitable, province reports

Saskatchewan’s crown corporations are reporting their annual profits this week. Both SGI and SaskTel had only good news to share when it came to the dollars and cents of their respective operations.

All told it was a very good year for Saskatchewan Government Insurance.

The Crown reported a $78.1 million profit for 2023. That’s double the net income of the previous year.

The money will go into reserve – meaning no dividend to government for the second year in a row.

“The rate stabilization reserve acts as a savings account that protects customers from sudden rate increases,” Minister responsible for crowns Dustin Duncan told reporters. “Those increases could be caused by unexpected events like catastrophic storms.”

In its annual report, SGI credited its net earnings to its “robust investment earnings” totalling $114.8 million in addition to a mild storm season.

However, higher costs for replacement parts due to global supply chain issues were also identified.

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SaskTel made slightly more money than SGI at $92.5 million. That's down about $10 million from the year previous, but it is enough to pay a $38.2 million dividend to the province.

“In 2023-24, SaskTel delivered solid operational and financial results while giving back to communities across Saskatchewan,” Duncan said.

The Crown touted a $368.5 million investment into infiNET and 5G networks across the province.

SaskTel’s revenue was composed of wireless network service and equipment revenue (49 per cent), fixed broadband and data (23 per cent), wireline communications (11 per cent), and maxTV service (seven per cent).

The solid financial performance leaves the government with no reason to consider sale of SaskTel like it had seven years ago.

The province maintains SaskTel and SGI are not for sale.