TELUS CEO to Receive Salary in Shares for 5th Straight Year

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jan 13, 2014) - (TSX:T)(TU) - TELUS President and CEO Darren Entwistle will collect his 2014 salary in shares rather than cash, marking the fifth consecutive year he has elected to receive his fixed compensation in the form of TELUS equity.

Mr. Entwistle's decision to forego his cash salary in favour of shares demonstrates his strong confidence in TELUS' short, medium and long-term performance, as well as his ongoing commitment to remain aligned with the interests of shareholders, including the many Canadians who count on their investment in TELUS to support their retirement income.

TELUS remains well-positioned to continue delivering on its multi-year shareholder-friendly initiatives including its dividend growth model and share purchase program, which together combined to return more than $1.85 billion to investors in 2013.

The Company previously announced the extension of its dividend growth program targeting two dividend increases per year through 2016, with the annual increase in the range of 10 per cent. In December, TELUS also announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange has approved its normal course issuer bid to purchase and cancel up to 16 million of its outstanding common shares (up to $500 million) in 2014. In addition, TELUS plans to target share purchases of up to $500 million in 2015 and 2016, for a total estimated program value of $2.5 billion including the $1.0 billion in shares purchased in 2013. Both the dividend growth and share purchase programs are subject to the ongoing assessment and determination of TELUS' Board of Directors.

TELUS reports its fourth quarter 2013 financial results on February 13, 2014.

Forward looking statement

This news release contains statements regarding future events, including with respect to future dividend increases and normal course issuer bids to 2016, that are forward-looking. By their nature, forward-looking statements require the Company to make assumptions and predictions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate and there can be no assurances that TELUS will complete all purchases under any normal course issuer bid. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual future performance and events to differ materially from that expressed in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, this news release is subject to the disclaimer and qualified by the assumptions (including assumptions for 2013 annual guidance, CEO three-year goals to 2013 for EPS and free cash flow growth excluding spectrum costs, semi-annual dividend increases to 2016, ability to sustain and complete multi-year share purchase programs to 2016), qualifications and risk factors referred to in the first, second and third quarter Management's discussion and analysis, in the 2012 annual report, and in other TELUS public disclosure documents and filings with securities commissions in Canada (on SEDAR at sedar.com) and in the United States (on EDGAR at sec.gov). Except as required by law, TELUS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements, and reserves the right to change, at any time at its sole discretion, its current practice of updating annual targets and guidance.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX:T)(TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $11.3 billion of annual revenue and 13.3 million customer connections, including 7.8 million wireless subscribers, 3.3 million wireline network access lines, 1.4 million Internet subscribers and 776,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $300 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS Community Boards lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.