Eskom interims out this month

JSE threat to suspend bonds

ESKOM said yesterday that it would release its long-awaited interim financial results by the end of this month.

This follows the JSE’s threat earlier yesterday to suspend the listing of Eskom’s bonds if the power utility failed to submit its interim financial report by January 31.

A delisting of Eskom’s bonds would worsen the power utility’s financial woes.

Eskom issues debt in the domestic and international debt capital markets in order to finance its funding requirements.

Eskom has a borrowing programme of R338 billion, which covers the period between April last year and March 2022.

According to the borrowing programme, the utility’s funding requirement for the 2018/19 financial year is R69.8bn.

In a terse statement yesterday, Eskom said it was aware of the notice published by the JSE related to the impact of the delayed release of the interim financial results on the listing of its bonds “and is committed to release the results on or before January 31, 2018”.

The beleaguered power utility has been stalling the release of the interim results for the six months to September last year.

The report will provide a glimpse into Eskom’s financial health in the face of reports that the utility’s liquidity had deteriorated.

Low liquidity levels would hamper Eskom’s ability to service debt.

Ratings agencies S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services in November downgraded Eskom’s rating, citing, among other things, the power utility’s deteriorating liquidity levels and the constraints on its access to funding.

Eskom last month announced that it had postponed the release the results until early this year, saying it had done so in order to review the impact of the 5.23 percent

price increase granted by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa and to allow its new board to review the financials.

Eskom had applied for a tariff increase of 19.9 percent.

“Eskom will release the results as soon as possible, to ensure effective business continuity,” acting chief financial officer Calib Cassim said last month.

The delay in the release of the financials has put Eskom on a collision course with the JSE.

In a statement yesterday, the JSE said Eskom had failed to submit the interim report within the three-month period stipulated in the JSE’s debt-listings requirements.

“Accordingly, this announcement is issued to warn holders of debt securities, if the issuer fails to submit its interim report on or before January 31, 2018, that the issuer’s debt securities and the issuer’s registration of the programme memorandum may be suspended in accordance with the provisions of the JSE’s debt listings requirements,” the JSE said.