True Corp eyes strategic partner

[lomatopo]

Firm hopes for operating profit in 2014, but gets downgrade from Moody's

True Corp expects to greet a strategic partner in the second half of this year, but that company might not necessarily be in the telecommunications industry. Many foreign companies in the telecom and non-telecom industries have approached True. The strategic partner could be any company that could create synergy with True's businesses, chief executive officer Suphachai Chearavanont said yesterday during a press briefing on the group's business direction this year.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded to "Caa1" from "B3" the corporate family rating of True and the corporate family and senior unsecured bond ratings of its consolidated subsidiary TrueMove. The outlook for all ratings is "negative". "The rating actions reflect True Corp's vulnerable business and financial profile, despite the company having lowered its debt levels by selling assets to the infrastructure fund that it established in the fourth quarter of 2013," said Yoshio Takahashi, an analyst with the ratings company.

Moody's expects that True Corp's negative FCF will total about Bt20 billion this year, because of its weak earnings from its mobile business, its ongoing large investments in third- and fourth-generation cellular services and the potential for additional spectrum fee payments, after the upcoming 1.8-gigahertz auction. Its short-term debt - including rated notes amounting to US$10.7 million due on August 1 - totalled Bt14 billion, while its cash holdings as of end-December totalled Bt15 billion. True will likely continue to depend on borrowings from domestic banks, including drawdowns from unused committed bank lines, and funding from the local currency bond market to address its financing gap.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/True-Corp-eyes-strategic-partner-30228567.html

http://true.listedcompany.com/misc/PRESN/20140307-TRUE-analystConferenceFY2013-02.pdf

Maybe a strategic partner can help right this sinking ship?

[muratremix]

Very bad news for people invested in True corp (and defending it on Forums like it'll make a difference).

I wonder if they'll comply with 80 percent population reach of 2100 mhz as Government dictated when they sell 2100 mhz rights?

[casualbiker]

Good luck to any one investing with True or ANY CP operation. They will skim what they want then throw them away..

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