Telekom Serbia has announced that it would sell bonds worth half a billion euros, while the company’s CEO, Vladimir Lucic, adds that the money generated that way would be used for, as he called it, the diversification of the debt and loan refinancing.
He admits that the company currently owes EUR 1.4 billion, but also claims that the revenues have been growing substantially.
Telekom will sell bonds either on the Frankfurt or the Luxembourg stock exchange. The company’s CEO is confident that investors will no longer be reluctant due to the war in Ukraine and has an optimistic vision when it comes to the sale of Telekom’s bonds.
“Our net debt stands at EUR 1.4 billion. In 2021, we engaged in strong investment activity. We bought broadcasting rights to matches of the English and Italian football leagues, but we didn’t increase the total consolidated debt. That means that our revenues have been growing substantially and, in late 2022, we will start reducing the debt and boosting our profitability,” Lucic was quoted as saying.
On the other hand, Marinika Tepic, an opposition politician, claims that Telekom is faking nearly all the financial results and that the actual revenues are much lower than cited by the company.
“In 2017, Telekom had a net debt of EUR 468 million, and now that has grown to nearly EUR 1.5 billion,” Tepic tweeted.
Telekom’s financial report will be quite “turbulent”, economic expert Misa Brkic claims. Once officially published, Telekom’s 2021 results will reveal bad business operations, Brkic says and wonders who will provide a guarantee for the bonds that the company plans to sell.
“If the state plans to provide a guarantee, that means that it will once again borrow half a billion euros. If Telekom is not able to pay back that amount, the state will back them up. It’s the same scenario when it comes to EPS or Srbijagas borrowing money,” Brkic adds.
(eKapija, 03.07.2022)
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