Internet Gold: Debenture payments to be withheld indefinitely

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, March 28 – Internet Gold - Golden Lines Ltd. intends to withhold payments to its debenture holders until further notice as a result of its inability to sell its ownership interest in B Communications Ltd., according to its fourth-quarter ended Dec. 31 and full-year 2018 financial results filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On March 20, B Communications announced that it intends to withhold payments to its debenture holders until further notice.

During the past week, Internet Gold said B Communications held initial meetings with its debenture holders as well as internal meetings, in order to formulate a plan that is mutually agreeable to B Communications and its debenture holders.

Concurrently, the company said B Communications management began and intends to continue its discussions with its shareholders in order to examine investment possibilities on behalf of the shareholders.

Taking into consideration the accounting and financial circumstances related to the results and valuations of its Bezeq subsidiary, Internet Gold said its debt was classified as short-term.

However, the company said this classification is under examination and will be examined up to the date its audited annual financial statements are issued and may change depending on the circumstances and progress of negotiations and potential arrangements.

As of Dec. 31, Internet Gold said its unconsolidated liquidity balances comprised of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled NIS 136 million, its unconsolidated financial liabilities totaled NIS 739 million, and its unconsolidated net debt totaled NIS 603 million.

Internet Gold’s consolidated revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled NIS 2.32 billion, a 5.4% decrease from the NIS 2.46 billion reported in the fourth quarter of 2017. For the full year 2018, the company’s revenues totaled NIS 9.32 billion, a 4.8% decrease from NIS 9.8 billion reported in 2017.

The company reported that its consolidated operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled NIS 2.18 billion, compared to operating profit of NIS 259 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. For the full-year 2018, Internet Gold’s consolidated operating loss totaled NIS 1.4 billion, compared to operating profit of NIS 1.6 billion in 2017.

Internet Gold is a telephone and internet provider based in Ramat Gan, Israel.

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