Altice shares jump after it clarifies financial position

Patrick Drahi, founder of struggling telecoms and cable company, reassures investors

Shares in Altice climbed more than 9 per cent on Monday morning, a day after the struggling telecoms and cable company tried to reassure investors about its financial position following concerns about its high levels of debt and tumbling stock price.

A statement released on Sunday night in response to “recent market speculation and misinformation” attempted to clarify Altice’s cash and debt position. The company said it was not exposed to any share price triggers on its loans and was not preparing to raise cash through an issue of equity or equity-linked instruments.

Altice's shares have almost halved in recent weeks following weaker than expected third-quarter results at its largest division, SFR in France, and concerns about a €51 billion debt mountain. Michel Combes resigned as chief executive this month and founder Patrick Drahi reinstated himself as chairman.

Altice confirmed on Monday that its majority shareholder Next Alt, which is owned by Altice founder Mr Drahi, did not have any margin loan exposure to the group and had not sold a material number of shares since the initial public offering. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2017