{"id":630714,"date":"2026-02-25T08:23:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=630714"},"modified":"2026-02-25T08:45:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:45:55","slug":"cell-c-owner-says-it-made-r389-million-profit-despite-reporting-r5-billion-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cellular\/630714-cell-c-owner-says-it-made-r389-million-profit-despite-reporting-r5-billion-loss.html","title":{"rendered":"Cell C owner says it made R389 million profit despite reporting R5-billion loss"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Blu Label Unlimited says that when you consider the impact that listing Cell C on the JSE had on its results, it made an after-tax net profit of R389 million and not a R5-billion loss as reported under IFRS standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe group\u2019s financial results for the six-month period ended 30 November 2025 were materially impacted by a series of strategic transactions,\u201d Blu Label stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost notably, the acquisition of control of Cell C, the subsequent pre-listing restructuring, which included the disposal of Comm Equipment Company (CEC), and the partial disposal of Cell C.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Cell C\u2019s listing, Blu Label continues to hold a 49.47% direct stake in Cell C. This equity-accounted contribution will include CEC\u2019s earnings following its integration into Cell C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccordingly, the group\u2019s normalised earnings will incorporate its proportionate share of Cell C\u2019s profitability, which will be added to the core headline earnings base of R398 million,\u201d said Blu Label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is expected to provide a more comprehensive view of the Group\u2019s total earnings while enhancing earnings visibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These transactions, although strategically important, introduce a degree of accounting complexity that Blu Label said has created volatility in the group’s underlying performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough the related accounting treatments are required under IFRS Accounting Standards, they are not indicative of Blu Label’s core operational trajectory or earnings capacity,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccordingly, in order to provide a clearer understanding of the group’s core performance, normalised financial information has been presented.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This excludes Cell C’s and CEC’s financial results for the six months, a goodwill impairment, and all extraneous items associated with Cell C’s pre-listing restructuring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis approach provides an alternative basis from which to evaluate the group’s sustainable earnings profile and ongoing performance,\u201d said Blu Label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe normalised financial information is not based on IFRS Accounting Standards and does not form part of the primary financial statements of the group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blu Label explains R5.2-billion loss on Cell\u00a0C<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Blu Label explained that its reported R5-billion loss stems from a net loss of R5.2 billion on its Cell C investment, which is added back for headline earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The loss comprises R6 billion recognised on the disposal of Blu Label subsidiary The Prepaid Company\u2019s investment in Cell C and CEC following Cell C’s listing at a market value of R9 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This R6-billion loss was partially offset by a R841-million gain on the remeasurement of the previously held interest when TPC acquired control of Cell C in September 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blu Label also noted that its reported revenue cannot be compared with that from several years ago due to changes in its business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional prepaid vouchers have been superseded by \u201cPINless top-ups\u201d, which the company says will cause its revenue to decline to more closely match its gross income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn inclusion of the gross amount generated on \u2018PINless top-ups\u2019, prepaid electricity, ticketing and universal vouchers, the effective revenue increase equated to 11% from R45.9 billion to R50.9 billion,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is lower than its reported revenue growth of 19% from R7.25 billion to R8.64 billion, but also higher than the 31% year-on-year decline obtained when comparing its normalised revenue of R5.02 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Blu Label board resumed dividend distributions, declaring an interim dividend of 43.56 cents per share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis reflects confidence in the group’s financial position, cash generation and sustainable earnings outlook,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary of Blu Label\u2019s normalised and reported results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Blu Label Unlimited results<\/th>Normalised
November 2025
(R\u2019000)<\/th>		Reported
November 2025
(R\u2019000)<\/th>		Reported
November 2024
(R\u2019000)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Revenue<\/strong><\/td>5,020,431<\/td>8,637,903<\/td>7,245,092<\/td><\/tr>
Gross income<\/strong><\/td>1,353,079<\/td>Not stated<\/td>Not stated<\/td><\/tr>
EBITDA<\/strong><\/td>535,161<\/td>-4,112,561<\/td>653,155<\/td><\/tr>
Net profit after tax attributable to equity holders of the parent<\/strong><\/td>389,054<\/td>-5,001,364<\/td>395,353<\/td><\/tr>
Headline earnings<\/strong><\/td>397,658<\/td>347,517<\/td>413,545<\/td><\/tr>
Core headline earnings<\/strong><\/td>397,855<\/td>374,401<\/td>424,302<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blu Label Unlimited says that when you consider the impact that listing Cell C had on its results, it made an after-tax net profit and not a loss as reported under IFRS standards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":594212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,14,17],"tags":[100568,355],"class_list":["post-630714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-cellular","category-technology","tag-blu-label-unlimited-blu","tag-cell-c"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630714"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630714"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":630727,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630714\/revisions\/630727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}