smh today

On your knees
Commander Communications can take some heart from a small bounce in its share price after the horror run over the last six months, but analysts aren't yet convinced the junior telecom is over the worst.

In an effort to rescue itself from the brink, Commander told shareholders on Friday its first priority was to repay its staggeringly high levels of debt - $365 million - partly via a possible capital raising.

Commander has little free cash flow available to repay debt this financial year, which means a significant amount of capital needs to be raised within the next 12 months.

But JP Morgan has questioned its ability to raise capital via a share issue given "the abysmal performance of the stock recently", which leaves it few options but to grovel to its bankers for a further refinancing of its debt.

And while ABN Amro believes Commander's remedial action may lead to a turnaround, it is not counting on this until at least the second half of next year.

"We would like to think, after the [recent] downgrades, that management are on top of this guidance this year. But when so much rests on a good fourth-quarter outcome … we are not confident of this."

Commander shares closed up 1c at 33c yesterday - up from its all-time low of 24c last Thursday.