South African company Blue Label Telecoms will delay publication of its full-year financial results until 26 September to deal with various issues related to the mobile operator's recapitalisation and restructuring. Blue Label had been expected to publish its results in late August. It has warned shareholders that it expects headline earnings for the year ended May to be down by at least 20 percent year on year, as it tries to quantify the impact of Cell C's financial woes on its balance sheet.
Blue Label said that its audit for the year ended May is "substantially complete" but it is currently in the process of determining the valuation of its investment in Cell C, "incorporating the effects of the transactions that are currently in progress", it said in a statement.
The outcome will have an impact on the carrying value of the investment, the assessment of the remaining fair values of Blue Label investment vehicles SPV1 and SPV2 as detailed in the trading statement published on 22 February, as well as the recoverability of the existing deferred tax asset within Cell C, it said.
Blue Label led a recapitalisation of Cell C some two years ago and holds a 45 percent stake in the carrier. It said that an extensive process is currently being undertaken by Cell C management to perform an assessment of the extent of the impact that the transactions will have on its financial statements.
