Spanish cableco Ono is still planning an IPO, but it is not imminent.
In a results call with analysts Ono CEO Rosalia Portela said a listing was still seen as a “positive alternative” for Ono.
She referred to comments made two years ago that a…
Spanish cableco Ono is still planning an IPO, but it is not imminent.
In a results call with analysts Ono CEO Rosalia Portela said a listing was still seen as a “positive alternative” for Ono.
She referred to comments made two years ago that a float on the stock exchange was part of Ono’s medium term strategy following a refinancing.
Last year, Ono had refinanced a substantial part of its debt pile and the cableco has no significant maturities coming up until 2017.
But the CEO warned that a listing would depend on market conditions and those were currently not right.
“We believe that the market does not allow it for the time being,” Portela said. “The Spanish market is still in a lot of trouble.”
She added that it was not expected that the economy would improve in the next few months.
But in a more favourable economic environment IPO plans could be reactivated:
“If the market becomes more positive it is very likely that we will proactively start working again on this possibility,” she told analysts on the call.
Asked about Vodafone’s and Orange’s planned €1bn fibre joint venture announced yesterday, she downplayed the impact on Ono.
Portela expressed scepticism that the operators would be able to meet their rollout targets, which she described as “ambitious”. She referred to the length of time it took Telefonica to build out their fibre network, saying it had taken the incumbent significantly longer than originally forecast.
Ono reported revenues up 5.9% to €1.57bn in 2012 and EBITDA of €752m.
