Telkom Writes off Multi-Links’ N20bn Loss
- By Abimbola Tooki
- Published December 21st, 2009
- News
- Unrated
Telkom South Africa’s investment in Multi-Links, a fixed wireless operator in Nigeria, has hurt its bottom line again as the company writes off another R2.14 billion (about N20 billion) in the half-year to September.
This is the fourth report in which Multi-Links has trimmed Telkom’s results, and the market is beginning to express concern over Telkom’s broader growth strategy. In the year to March, the company wrote off R1.7 billion (about N10 billion) against the Nigerian operation. This development confirms the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) recent worry of signs of distress in the nation’s telecommunications industry. “We are a bit worried that many of the operating companies are not doing as well as they are supposed to do,” Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, executive vice chairman of NCC said. “It might be true to say that a number of the other operators are operating marginally and some are operating negatively in terms of profits and margins.”
Telkom, however, revealed it will invest over N60 billion over the next five years to get its mobile business up and running. And in order to stem the tide, Telkom has concluded the appointment of Jeffery Hedberg, a turnaround specialist, to head the Nigerian operations.
This is the fourth report in which Multi-Links has trimmed Telkom’s results, and the market is beginning to express concern over Telkom’s broader growth strategy. In the year to March, the company wrote off R1.7 billion (about N10 billion) against the Nigerian operation. This development confirms the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) recent worry of signs of distress in the nation’s telecommunications industry. “We are a bit worried that many of the operating companies are not doing as well as they are supposed to do,” Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, executive vice chairman of NCC said. “It might be true to say that a number of the other operators are operating marginally and some are operating negatively in terms of profits and margins.”
Telkom, however, revealed it will invest over N60 billion over the next five years to get its mobile business up and running. And in order to stem the tide, Telkom has concluded the appointment of Jeffery Hedberg, a turnaround specialist, to head the Nigerian operations.
