Telecommunications network operatorCable & Wireless(C&W) has confirmed it is to split its business and list
both operations.
The move will allow C&W to reposition itself as the
specialist international telecommunications carrier for global
companies on one hand, and as a specialist national carrier for
small countries on the other.
Executive chairman John Pluthero said C&W was already the
de-facto market leader as a supplier of telecoms to global
firms.
The firm plans to list separately its so-called Worldwide
business from its businesses in the Caribbean, Panama, Macau,
Monaco and islands such as Maldives, collectively known as CWI.
Speaking at the release of C&W's
interim results, chairman Richard Lapthorne said more settled
financial markets allowed the demerger to move ahead.
"The board believes that a demerger is the right structure to
drive further growth and value for shareholders by enabling both
businesses to pursue their strategies independently, and it is keen
to push ahead as quickly as possible," Lapthorne said.
For the first half of 2009 sales and earnings before interest,
taxes, deprecation and amortisation (ebitda) for Worldwide and CWI
are £1,141m (£72m) and £721m (£271m) respectively.
Global revenue was up 13% to £1.86bn with operating profits up
30% to £463m and after-tax profit up 42% to £163m. This allowed the
company to declare a 3.16p per share dividend, up 12%.
Pluthero said C&W had made a deliberate decision to get more
revenue and profit from transporting data rather than voice
traffic. Sales of Internet Protocol, data and hosting traffic were
up 39% to £592m while voice revenues were down one per cent to
£527m, he said. Legacy systems, mainly dial-up contracts were down
52% as a result of deliberate decisions to get out of the
business.
"Data now represents just over 50% of revenue and 72% of gross
margin," he said.
Pluthero was cautious about prospects. He said customers had
cancelled a number of "discretionary" projects, but were continuing
to renew basic contracts. "There is just the tiniest sign that
things are starting to pick up," he said.
However, he was confident about confirming earliest guidance on
results for the year which is a 12% rise in the dividend to 9.5p
per share.
C&W will provide further details on the demerger later in
November.