Service Stream confirms earnings guidance hit
Specialist telecoms construction firm Service Stream Ltd has confirmed its full-year profit will take a hit on its troubled Syntheo joint venture and has extended its trading halt for another two weeks to "clarifies a number of issues" in a review of the group and its broader fixed communication segment.
Speculation has been mounting that Syntheo, a joint venture between Lend Lease and Service Stream, was on the brink of being of being terminated, which would have ramifications for the rollout of the national broadband network.
Syntheo has almost $1 billion in contracts with NBN Co for the fibre optic rollout of the network.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, Service Stream said its review would "impact" its FY13 profit guidance, and requested its halt be extended to Monday 8 July.
The group went into a trading halt on June 11.
Service Stream was hit hard when NBN Co stripped a contract worth up to $341 million from the Syntheo joint venture it runs with Lend Lease, to build the network in the Northern Territory.
The contract was stripped from Syntheo in March, after NBN Co chief executive blamed the contractor for delays to the project rollout in a Senate hearing.
Service Stream has said that Syntheo would continue to work for NBN Co in Western Australia and South Australia.
The group requested the halt remain until Monday 8 July.