Telus Corp. on Friday lowered its estimate of how much profit it will make this year.

The move came as the Vancouver-based telecommunications company reported third-quarter earnings that have dropped slightly from a year ago.

Telus earned $280 million, or 88 cents per share, in the three months to Sept. 30, compared to a profit of $286 million, or 89 cents a share, a year ago.

Income fell along with the recession, with weaker demand for long-distance calls over wireline, a service where a phone is directly connected to a telephone line.

Telus said it expects 2009 profit to range from $3.10 to $3.30 a share, down from $3.35 to $3.55 a share it estimated in August.

Telus shares traded at $33.58 in afternoon trading Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down 40 cents, or more than one per cent.