Cell C remains technically insolvent, but there are signs that the telecommunications company is starting to turn the corner ahead of a possible listing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In its parent company Blue Label\u2019s results for the year ended 31 May 2025, Cell C\u2019s balance sheet showed that total assets stood at R15 billion, up from R14.1 billion a year prior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group\u2019s total liabilities stood at around R16 billion, giving the group a negative equity of R1.0 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This makes the company technically insolvent, as, in the event of a liquidation, it would be unable to pay its creditors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, this is a significant improvement from the negative equity of R3.1 billion seen a year ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cell C is also showing other signs of promise, with its revenue increasing from R10.8 billion to R11.1 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group\u2019s net profit after taxation also increased from R279 million to R2.2 billion due to R2 billion in deferred tax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These improvements come as Blue Label has been investigating a potential restructuring to unlock shareholder value, with one of the objectives being the separation and listing of Cell C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018The proposed restructure is expected to include a series of related transactions designed to optimise Cell C\u2019s capital structure and balance sheet in preparation for such a listing,\u201d said Blue Label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The implementation of the restructure and potential listing will remain subject to the approval of the board of Blue Label and Cel C, with requisite shareholder and regulatory approvals still needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group said that the restructure will deliver benefits to Blue Label and its shareholders, as it will allow investors to evaluate the value and strategic focus of Blue Label and Cell as standalone businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As is seemingly customary with Blue Label\u2019s stake in Cell C, the proposed restructuring will be incredibly complex.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It includes the acquisition by Cell C of 100% of Comm Equipment Company Proprietary Limited (CEC) from the Prepaid Company Proprietary Limited, in exchange for additional shares in Cell C – all of these companies are Blue Label subsidiaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEC is the subsidiary responsible for Cell C\u2019s postpaid offerings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIts internalisation will enable Cell C to assume full responsibility for its postpaid customer base, including supply chain oversight, commercial operations, marketing, billing, credit management, and collections,\u201d said Blue Label. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The transaction remains subject to several conditions precedent. However, the group has already received approval from the Competition Tribunal for the proposed acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Cell C improvement also comes amidst a significant rise in earnings from Blue Label. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The group\u2019s net profit increased 264% to R2.5 billion, while its headline earnings rose 262% to R4.1 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “This year\u2019s results are a testament to the strength of our core businesses and the depth of our relationships across every segment we serve,\u201d said Mark Levy, Joint CEO of Blue Label Telecoms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut more importantly, they set the stage for what comes next. The new BLU is a more focused, integrated and agile organisation, designed to capture growth opportunities and deliver sustained value in a fast-changing digital economy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The group recently received requisite shareholder approval to change its name to Blu Label Unlimited, starting 3 September 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The company said it is undergoing a significant restructuring process involving separating its telecoms and non-telecoms business units, hence the name change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cell C remains technically insolvent as its parent company, Blue Label, looks set to list it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":733943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[6064,42],"class_list":["post-836079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-telecommunications","tag-blue-label","tag-cell-c"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836079"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":836082,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836079\/revisions\/836082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/733943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Cell C Balance Sheet<\/th> 30 Nov 2023<\/th> 31 May 2024<\/th> 30 Nov 2024<\/th> 31 May 2025<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Assets (R\u2019000)<\/td> 12 242 924<\/td> 14 130 474<\/td> 13 813 396<\/td> 15 020 220<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Liabilities (R\u2019000)<\/td> 16 634 611<\/td> 17 309 515<\/td> 17\u00a0141\u00a0677<\/td> 16 063 918<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Equity (R\u2019000)<\/td> (4\u00a0391\u00a0687)<\/mark><\/td> (3 179 041)<\/mark><\/td> (3\u00a0328\u00a0281)<\/mark><\/td> (1 043 698)<\/strong><\/mark><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Good times for Blue Label <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Item<\/th> Group May 2025 (R’000)<\/th> Group May 2024 (R’000)<\/th> Change (%)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Revenue<\/strong><\/td> 14 050 177<\/td> 14 598 444<\/td> (4%)<\/td><\/tr> Gross profit<\/strong><\/td> 3 375 003<\/td> 3 295 038<\/td> 2%<\/td><\/tr> EBITDA<\/strong><\/td> 1 604 090<\/td> 1 225 475<\/td> 17%<\/td><\/tr> Net profit after tax<\/strong><\/td> 2 484 243<\/td> 647 386<\/td> 264%<\/td><\/tr> Headline earnings adjustment<\/strong><\/td> 1 612 163<\/td> 10 311<\/td> 167%<\/td><\/tr> Headline earnings<\/strong><\/td> 4 096 406<\/td> 657 697<\/td> 262%<\/td><\/tr> Core headline earnings<\/strong><\/td> 4 147 296<\/td> 679 488<\/td> 258%<\/td><\/tr> Share performance<\/strong><\/td> –<\/td> –<\/td> –<\/td><\/tr> EPS (cents)<\/td> 276.52<\/td> 72.49<\/td> 262%<\/td><\/tr> HEPS (cents)<\/td> 455.96<\/td> 73.64<\/td> 260%<\/td><\/tr> Core HEPS (cents)<\/td> 461.63<\/td> 76.08<\/td> 256%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"