Net 1 UEPS Technologies assumes it will continue operating SA’s welfare payment system on "existing terms and conditions" for the remainder of its financial year, it said in its interim results statement on Friday morning. The group reported revenue was nearly flat at $307m while net profit grew 8.5% to $44m for the six months to end-December. Regarding Blue Label Telecoms’s proposed acquisition of 45% of Cell C for R5.5bn — which Net 1 backed by acquiring 15% of Blue Label for R2bn — the company said this deal was one of a "number of variables that will have an impact on our fiscal 2017 results". There has been no news on this transaction since November, and on Tuesday S&P Global Ratings announced that Cell C’s finances had deteriorated to the point where it had defaulted on debt repayments. The ratings agency’s note drew attention to SA’s radio spectrum regulatory, which contributed to the risk that the deal may not be viable because licences could not be transferred without the g...
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