The JSE has put Eskom on notice that it will suspend the trading of its bonds on the bourse should the energy producer not summit its annual financial statements for the year ended March 2024.
The development is likely to rattle the utility’s bondholders, who hold a chunk of its debt.
The exchange on Friday alerted Eskom’s bondholders that the entity had delayed the submissions of its annual financial statements within the stipulated time, and should it not do so by the end of November, it might be forced to take stern action.
This comes after Eskom failed to submit its financials within seven months, as demanded by the JSE’s debt listing requirements.
“This announcement is issued to warn holders of debt securities that the above issuer has failed to submit its financial information timeously and that the listing of the issuer’s debt securities and the registration of its programme memorandums is under threat of suspension and possible removal,” the JSE said.
“If the above issuer still fails to submit its financial information by November 30 2024, then the issuer’s programme and the listing of its debt securities may be suspended.”
In its March year-end results, Eskom said the outstanding information was likely to be released in December — putting it on a collision course with the JSE over its November deadline.
Eskom, which has turned around its operational performance over the past eight months, is listed on the JSE as an issuer of debt securities, with the utility having a continuing obligation to comply with the exchange’s debt listing regime.
The Public Investment Corporation is one of the biggest investors in Eskom’s bonds, with the asset manager’s exposure to Eskom bonds standing at R83bn. The domestic market remains an important pool of liquidity for Eskom’s funding requirements.
In a more worrying development, Eskom said the publication of its annual results was delayed by an investigation that took longer than initially anticipated. It declined to reveal the details of the investigation, and why the probe had a material bearing on its results.
In its financial results, Eskom said: “While substantial progress has been made to finalise Eskom’s 2024 AFSs [annual financial statements], the resolution of a final outstanding matter is taking longer than anticipated. It is however envisaged that the investigation into this matter will be concluded soon.”
The utility is coming from a stinging full-year loss of R23.2bn in the 2024 financial year.
The Financial Times reported in July that Eskom’s 2024 financial year loss was likely to come in at R15bn.
Eskom has made strides since March in its operational performance, with the utility having gone more than 200 days without implementing load-shedding, saving more than R12bn in the process.
This is as Eskom’s expenditure on open-cycle gas turbines, which use diesel as their primary resource, came in at R6.2bn, about 66.5% less than the R18.52bn spent last year over the same period.
The reduction on diesel spend is likely to have a material effect on Eskom’s 2025 financial year results.
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