As the company finally published its fourth-quarter results for 2001, chief executive Barclay Knapp admitted that NTL might not be able to afford to keep running while it sought refinancing.
He warned: "There can be no assurance that we will successfully complete a recapitalisation or financing in a timely manner in order to sustain the company's operations."
The company has appointed advisers to help it restructure its £12bn debt. Yesterday, it was reported that a group of NTL bondholders had proposed swapping more than $11bn (£7.7bn) of bonds for 100% ownership of NTL, sparking a leap in the price of its bonds.
NTL took a hit of £8bn in exceptional charges relating to restructuring costs during 2001, but showed a 144% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to £159m for the quarter. Revenue was up by 15% to £678m for the same period.
On March 14, the NYSE told NTL its market capitalisation had fallen below the $100m mark required for listing and that its share price was below the $1 minimum. NTL is working to ensure it meets these requirements, but its results statement says it "can not predict whether we will be able to achieve such compliance successfully".
Shares in the company closed yesterday at 20 cents.
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