Telecom investors appeared frightened off yesterday by the
release of a complicated set of annual accounts, dumping the
stock and forcing the share price down 9% soon after the June
year profit was filed.
Successful cost reductions will be a key part of the new
Telecom's financial results for the six months to June
expected out tomorrow, Forsyth Barr broker Tom Bliss says.
Telecom's CDMA network officially closed last night and
Dunedin cellphone retailers have experienced a rush of
customers not wanting to be left without working cellphones.
Telecom has lost an appeal against a court ruling that
resulted in it being slapped with a $12 million penalty for
using its market dominance to kneecap competitors a decade
ago.
Telecom said it plans to de-list its shares from the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) and to re-list them on the Amercian
over the counter (OTC) market to save costs.
The appointment of Simon Moutter as the new chief executive
of Telecom will have investors hoping for many happy returns
as Mr Moutter returns to an industry he knows well.
Otago-Southland businesses will be among the first to benefit
from the deal between Telecom and Enable to deliver
ultra-fast broadband (UFB) in Christchurch, Gen-i Southern
sales manager Peter Thomas says.
A newly-demerged Telecom reported an adjusted net profit of
$240 million for the first half to December 31, up 51
percent, and said it would buy back $300m worth of shares
this year.
