The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that BCE saw its third-quarter profit slip by 8 per cent while its revenue rose slightly amid what its chief executive characterized as a "highly competitive marketplace." The Globe's Alexandra Posadzki writes that the Montreal telco reported $707-million in profit for the three-month period ended Sept. 30, down from $771-million a year ago, while its revenue rose to $6.08-billion, from $6.02-billion. The company attributed the lower profit to higher financing costs as a result of higher interest rates and more outstanding debt, higher depreciation and amortization expenses stemming from rapid growth in its broadband capital asset base and higher income taxes. During a conference call, chief executive officer Mirko Bibic noted that the company increased its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin by 0.9 percentage points. BCE added 142,886 net new postpaid wireless customers during the quarter, down 14.8 per cent from a year ago, while churn rose to 1.1 per cent. Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi noted that while the company's wireless business had a strong quarter, "numbers slightly missed the exuberant street expectations."