*Related to Notes issued in UVA
Exchange gains from exchange rate differences, measured in real terms, are the result of inflation outpacing the appreciation of the US dollar against the Argentine peso (79.8% vs. 12.8%, respectively in the 1H24).
Income Tax
Telecom’s income tax includes the following effects:
the current income tax, determined based on the current tax legislation applicable to Telecom,
the effect of applying the deferred tax method with respect to temporary differences determined by comparing our asset and liability valuation according to tax and financial accounting criteria which includes the effect of the income tax inflation adjustment.
Income tax loss amounted to P$361,508 million in 1H24 (vs. an income of P$139,666 million in 1H23). The loss related to item (i) above amounted to P$5,538 million in 1H24 (vs. a loss of P$1,575 million in 1H23) and the income tax effect related to the application of the deferred tax method described in item (ii) above is a loss of P$355,970 million in 1H24 (vs. an income of P$141,241 million in 1H23).
Consolidated Net Financial Debt
As of June 30, 2024, our net financial debt (cash, cash equivalents – net of Client Funds – plus financial investments and financial NDF* minus loans) is passive and amounted to P$2,189,225 million, which represents a decrease of P$1,135,776 when compared to the net financial debt as of December 31, 2023, restated by inflation.
* Contemplates rate swaps and NDF (non-delivery forwards) agreements.
Investments in PP&E, intangible assets and rights of use assets
During 1H24, the Company invested (including rights of use assets) P$315,946 million (+3.7% vs. 1H23). Said investments represented 19.0% of consolidated revenues in 1H24. As of June 30, 2024, investments without considering right of use of assets totaled P$224,592 million (-1.8% vs. 1H23).
The investments were focused on:
Expansion of cable TV and internet services to improve transmission and access speed offered to customers.
Deployment and modernization of our 4G mobile access sites to improve coverage and increase mobile network capacity. The deployment of 4G/LTE reached a coverage of 98% of the population. Our mobile subscribers with access to our 4G network, according to Ookla’s latest June 2024 benchmark, perceived a better service experience, reaching average speeds of 39.9Mbps, compared to 33.1Mbps during the same period in 2023.
During the first months of 2024, we continued the expansion of our 5G network, with plans to add 200 sites by the end of the year.
Additionally, we continue to expand mobile site connectivity to achieve better quality and capacity by replacing radio links with high-capacity fiber optic connections. Additionally, we continued with the plan to connect remote and low-density areas through satellite backhaul.
Relevant financial events of the period
Open Gateway
Telecom is leading the GSMA Open Gateway initiative in Argentina, which aims to driveinnovation and enable developers and cloud providers to implement services quickly and in a standardized manner. In this context, Telecom has made two APIs available as part of this project, contributing to the value proposition of digital security and fraud prevention: SIM SWAP and the more recent Number Verification.
Additionally, in April, the company announced a partnership with Intraway, launching a joint digital venture focused on creating a software solution that will help communication service providers (CSPs) in Latin America accelerate the exposure and monetization of their networks in a secure and scalable manner.
Disbursement from Export Development Canada (EDC)
In June 2024, a disbursement of USD 11.6 million (equivalent to P$10,508 million as of June 30, 2024) was completed, maturing in May 2030. The disbursed capital accrues compensatory interest at a semi-annual SOF rate plus a margin of 6.65 percentage points.
Issuance of Notes Class 20 and Additional
Class
Currency
Nominal Amount Issued
(in million)
Date of Issuance
Maturity Date
Principal repayment
Interest rate
Interest payment
20
US$ linked
59,7 (1)
06/2024
06/2026
In 1 payment at maturity date
Fixed: 5%
Quarterly
21,6 (2)
06/2024
06/2026
In 1 payment at maturity date
Fixed: 5%
Quarterly
(1) For Class 20 Notes, the subscription price was above par (103.88% of the nominal value).
(2) For Additional Class 20 Notes, the subscription price was above par (104.84% of the nominal value).
Relevant events after June 30, 2024
Shelf Registration Statement
On July 8, 2024, the Company filed a shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Form F-3 concerning various types of debt securities, American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), and Class B Shares of the Company, as well as a prospectus supplement related to this form for the 198,085,167 Class B Shares underlying the ADSs held by Fintech Telecom LLC, as disclosed in the SC 13D/A form filed with the SEC on April 16, 2019.
These documents will enable the Company and its majority shareholders to conduct transactions that may qualify as public offerings of securities in the United States over the next three years. As of the date of this press release, the Company does not expect to undertake transactions that could qualify as a public offering of debt securities or shares in the United States.
Class 21 International Notes Issuance
In July 2024, the Company re-entered the international credit markets and issued its Class 21 Notes as detailed below:
Offered Nominal Value: USD 1,310,202,000
Number of Offers Received: 190
Nominal Value of Notes to be Issued: USD 500,000,000
Interest Rate: 9.5% nominal annual, semiannual payments
Issue Price: 99.109% of the Nominal Value of the Notes
Yield: 9.7%
Issuance and Settlement Date: July 18, 2024
Repayment: The principal of the Notes will be repaid in three installments as follows: (i) 33% of the principal on July 18, 2029; (ii) 33% of the principal on July 18, 2030; (iii) 34% of the principal on the Maturity Date, July 18, 2031.
The expected use of proceeds is the refinancing of existing debt and payment of the consideration for the tender offer of our Class 5 Notes maturing in 2025. This transaction allowed the company to improve its average financing cost and extend the average maturity of its debt.
Class 5 Notes maturing in 2025 Tender Offer
In August 2024, in accordance with the planned used of proceeds from the issuance of Class 21 Notes and with the aim of continuing an effective liability management policy, the Company completed an early tender offer of USD 19,849,880 nominal value of its Class 5 Notes. Following this tender offer and the principal repayment made in August 2024, USD 112,366,260 nominal value of our Class 5 Notes remains outstanding.
Class 1 Notes maturing in 2026 Exchange Offer
In August 2024, as part of the exchange offer of its Class 1 Notes for Additional Class 21 Notes, the Company completed the exchange of USD 117,217,000 nominal value of Class 1 Notes. As of the date of this report, USD 617,217,000 nominal value of Class 21 Notes (including Additional Class 21) remains outstanding. This successfully enabled Telecom to extend the average maturity of its debt profile.
Class 22 Notes Issuance
Class
Currency
Nominal Amount Issued
(in million)
Date of Issuance
Maturity Date
Principal repayment
Interest rate
Interest payment
22
US$ Linked
33.7 (1)
08/2024
02/2026
In 1 payment at maturity date
Fixed: 2%
Quarterly
(1) For Class 22 Notes, the subscription price was above par (100.74% of the nominal value).
Main Highlights for 1H24 and 2Q24
We achieved an improvement in Operating Income before D, A & D, in a challenging environment, registering a margin of 29.7% in 1H24 (compared to 28.4% in 1H23). Additionally, in 2Q24, the margin saw a significant improvement, reaching 29.1% (+2.8 percentage points vs. 2Q23).
We successfully increased our subscriber base in the mobile segment and stabilized our broadband and pay TV subscriber bases in a highly competitive market.
Our fintech, Personal Pay, is now a significant operator in the market, with nearly 3 million subscribers, and is the second-largest participant in terms of remunerated accounts balances.
We showed resilience in our business model, with a strong recovery in revenue and EBITDA figures measured in dollars, despite high currency depreciation and inflation.
Through our liability management transactions, we improved our debt maturity profile, extended the average maturity of our debt, and reduced our financing costs.
Telecom Argentina is a leading telecommunications company in Argentina, offering local and long distance fixed-line telephone, cellular, data transmission, and pay TV and Internet services, among other services. Additionally, Telecom Argentina offers mobile, broadband and satellite TV services in Paraguay and pay TV services in Uruguay. The Company commenced operations on November 8, 1990, upon the Argentine government’s transfer of the telecommunications system in the northern region of Argentina.
As of June 30, 2024, Telecom Argentina owns 2,153,688,011 issued and outstanding shares.
For more information, please contact Investor Relations:
Luis Fernando Rial Ubago
[email protected]
Tomás Pellicori
[email protected]
Livio Gentile
[email protected]
For information about Telecom Argentina’s services, visit:
www.telecom.com.ar
www.personal.com.ar
www.personal.com.py
Disclaimer
This document may contain statements that could constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to (i) the Company’s expectations for its future performance, revenues, income, earnings per share, capital expenditures, dividends, liquidity and capital structure; (ii) the continued synergies expected from the merger between the Company and Cablevisión S.A. (or the Merger); (iii) the implementation of the Company’s business strategy; (iv) the changing dynamics and growth in the telecommunications and cable markets in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and the United States; (v) the Company’s outlook for new and enhanced technologies; (vi) the effects of operating in a competitive environment; (vii) the industry conditions; (viii) the outcome of certain legal proceedings; and (ix) regulatory and legal developments. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will,” “may” and “should” or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. In addition, certain forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others: (i) the Company’s ability to successfully implement our business strategy and to achieve synergies resulting from the Merger; (ii) the Company’s ability to introduce new products and services that enable business growth; (iii) uncertainties relating to political and economic conditions in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and the United States, including the policies of the new government in Argentina; (iv) the impact of political developments, including the policies of the new government in Argentina, on the demand for securities of Argentine companies; (v) inflation, the devaluation of the peso, the Guaranà and the Uruguayan peso and exchange rate risks in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay; (vi) restrictions on the ability to exchange Argentine or Uruguayan pesos or Paraguayan guaranÃes into foreign currencies and transfer funds abroad; (vii) the impact of currency and exchange measures or restrictions on our ability to access the international markets and our ability to repay our dollar-denominated indebtedness; (viii) the creditworthiness of our actual or potential customers; (ix) the nationalization, expropriation and/or increased government intervention in companies; (x) technological changes; (xi) the impact of legal or regulatory matters, changes in the interpretation of current or future regulations or reform and changes in the legal or regulatory environment in which the Company operates, including regulatory developments such as sanctions regimes in other jurisdictions (e.g., the United States) which impact on the Company’s suppliers; (xii) the effects of increased competition; (xiii) reliance on content produced by third parties; (xiv) increasing cost of the Company’s supplies; (xv) inability to finance on reasonable terms capital expenditures required to remain competitive; (xvi) fluctuations, whether seasonal or in response to adverse macro-economic developments, in the demand for advertising; (xvii) the Company’s ability to compete and develop our business in the future; (xviii) the impact of increased national or international restrictions on the transfer or use of telecommunications technology; and (xix) the impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 on the global economy and specifically on the economies of the countries in which we operate, as well as on our operations and financial performance. Many of these factors are macroeconomic and regulatory in nature and therefore beyond the control of the Company’s management. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended, planned or projected. The Company does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this document. These forward-looking statements are based upon a number of assumptions and other important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from our future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are encouraged to consult the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and the periodic filings made on Form 6-K, which are periodically filed with or furnished to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the presentations periodically filed before the Argentine Securities and Exchange Commission (Comisión Nacional de Valores) and the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (Bolsas y Mercados Argentinos), for further information concerning risks and uncertainties faced by the Company.
SOURCE: Telecom Argentina
View the original press release on accesswire.com
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66ba96af9f03416e8879c43765676961&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.finanznachrichten.de%2Fnachrichten-2024-08%2F62978734-telecom-argentina-s-a-announces-consolidated-results-for-the-first-half-and-second-quarter-of-fiscal-year-2024-200.htm&c=3780236322301713998&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-08-12 11:38:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
