EXPOSED: CELL C’S R3.4-BILLION “PROFIT” IS A SHAMELESS ACCOUNTING HOAX designed to FOOL investors and the public. Our investigation reveals the mobile operator’s gleaming JSE debut is built on a mountain of FINANCIAL ENGINEERING and DECEPTION, hiding a core business in FREE FALL.
The so-called profit owes EVERYTHING to a one-off balance sheet restructuring—a R3.5-billion gain from LOANS SIMPLY ERASED. Strip out the clever tricks, and adjusted earnings PLUMMET, exposing a terrifying truth: operational performance is STAGNANT or DECLINING. This isn’t success; it’s a CORPORATE MIRAGE.
Behind the smoke and mirrors, the reality is GRIM. Revenue crawled up a pathetic 1.8%. Prepaid users are paying LESS, with average revenue CRASHING. Post-paid is a “clean-up” of low-value customers—a euphemism for PURGING the unprofitable. The company admits to LIQUIDITY CONSTRAINTS, with current liabilities EXCEEDING assets by a STAGGERING R2.3-billion. They are deferring essential projects just to stay AFLOAT.
THE TICKING TIME BOMB ON ITS BOOKS
The “clean” balance sheet is a LIE. Cell C now carries R1.4-billion in African Bank debt and R866-million in GOODWILL from a shaky acquisition. Directors claim “no material uncertainties,” but this is a BLATANT contradiction of the glaring red flags in their own reports. CEO Jorge Mendes’ “upbeat tone” is a desperate performance for a sinking ship.
This listing wasn’t a rebirth; it was a last-ditch RESCUE for insiders, dumping restructured debt onto PUBLIC MARKETS. Every investor cheering this “profit” is being PLAYED. The regulatory cuts to termination rates are a DEATH KNELL, with another brutal cut coming in 2026. When the music stops, the billions in paper profits will VANISH, leaving shareholders with NOTHING.
The entire financial system is complicit in this charade, asking us to celebrate a company that survives only by REWRITING its own ruinous past. If this is what passes for a “turning point,” then the market has truly lost its mind. The numbers don’t lie, but Cell C’s leadership is betting YOUR money that you won’t look beyond the headline. WAKE UP before it’s too late.
Read: Cell C makes long-awaited JSE debut
This report proves that in today’s economy, REALITY is optional for corporations—and your savings are the ultimate casualty.
Author: Kayitsi.com
