Telecom Argentina S.A. announces dividends for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2014

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, April 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Telecom Argentina S.A. ("Telecom Argentina" or the "Company") (BASE: TECO2, NYSE: TEO), one of Argentina's leading telecommunications groups, announced that the General Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting held today approved a cash dividend distribution in the amount of P$804,402,472, the creation of a 'Reserve for Future Cash Dividends' of P$ 2,868,137,894; and the delegation of the authority to the Board of Directors to determine, depending on the performance of the business, the allocation in one or more instances, of an amount up to P$ 649,336,936 of the 'Reserve for Future Cash Dividends' and its distribution to the shareholders as cash dividends, during Fiscal Year 2015.

The dividend payment will be made starting on May 11, 2015. The amount to be distributed is equivalent to P$0.83 per outstanding share in circulation or P$4.15 per ADR, prior to deductions of the Personal Asset Tax and Income Tax obligations, as described below. Dividends will not be paid to nor reserved for Treasury shares.

For ADR holders, the Record Date is May 8, 2015 and the Payment Date is May 18, 2015. The payment to these shareholders will be made through the Depositary Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A.

For non-ADR holders, the Record Date is also May 8, 2015 and payment will be available as from May 11, 2015 (as described below). For these shareholders, payment will be made through Caja de Valores S.A. in Argentina.

The Company will deduct from the dividend payment the proportionate value of any amount of Personal Asset Tax paid by the Company (pursuant to the unnumbered section following section 25 of Law No. 23,966, as amended) for fiscal year 2014. Deductions of Personal Asset Tax payments will not apply to shareholders who did not own shares or ADRs on December 31, 2014 and to those who have reimbursed the Company the amount related to such tax obligations.

As well and if applicable, from the dividend to be paid, Telecom Argentina will deduct 10% of the amount distributed as Income Tax as provided in the last paragraph of Article 90 of Law 20,628 and amendments, incorporated by law 26,893.

Due to the time required to determine which non-ADR holders are subject to the referred taxes, the effective date of the dividend distribution through Caja de Valores S.A. will be made within 10 days of the payment date, in accordance with the time period established in Article 90 of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange Listing Rules.

Telecom Argentina is the parent company of a leading telecommunications group in Argentina, where it offers, either itself or through its controlled subsidiaries local and long distance fixed-line telephony, cellular, data transmission and Internet services, among other services. Additionally, through a controlled subsidiary, the Telecom Group offers cellular services in Paraguay. The Company commenced operations on November 8, 1990, upon the Argentine government's transfer of the telecommunications system in the northern region of Argentina.

Nortel Inversora S.A. (´Nortel´), which acquired the majority of the Company from the Argentine government, holds 54.74% of Telecom Argentina's issued common stock. Nortel is a holding company whose common stock (approximately 78% of capital stock) is owned by Sofora Telecomunicaciones S.A. Additionally, Nortel capital stock is comprised of preferred shares that are held by minority shareholders.

As of April 29, 2015, Telecom Argentina continued to have 984,380,978 shares issued and 969,159,605 shares outstanding.

For more information, please contact Investor Relations:

Voice Mail: (5411) 4968 3628
Fax: (5411) 4968 3616
E-mail: [email protected]

For information about Telecom Group services, visit:

www.telecom.com.ar 
www.personal.com.ar 
www.personal.com.py 
www.arnet.com.ar

Disclaimer
This document may contain statements that could constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the Company's expectations for its future performance, revenues, income, earnings per share, capital expenditures, dividends, liquidity and capital structure; the effects of its debt restructuring process; the impact of emergency laws enacted by the Argentine Government; and the impact of rate changes and competition on the Company's future financial performance. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "intends," "should," "seeks," "estimates," "future" or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect the Company's expected results. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact of emergency laws enacted by the Argentine government that have resulted in the repeal of Argentina's Convertibility law, devaluation of the peso, various changes in restrictions on the ability to exchange pesos into foreign currencies,  and currency transfer policy generally, the "pesification" of tariffs charged for public services, the elimination of indexes to adjust rates charged for public services and the Executive branch announcement to renegotiate the terms of the concessions granted to public service providers, including Telecom. Due to extensive changes in laws and economic and business conditions in Argentina, it is difficult to predict the impact of these changes on the Company's financial condition. Other factors may include, but are not limited to, the evolution of the economy in Argentina, growing inflationary pressure and evolution in consumer spending and the outcome of certain legal proceedings. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as the date of this document. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events and circumstances after the date of this press release, including, without limitation, changes in the Company's business or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Readers are encouraged to consult the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F, as well as periodic filings made on Form 6-K, which are filed with or furnished to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for further information concerning risks and uncertainties faced by Telecom.

Market Cap: P$51.0 billion 
April 29, 2015

Contacts:
Pedro Insussarry
Solange Barthe Dennin
(54 11) 4968-3743/3752

SOURCE Telecom Argentina S.A.

Related Links

http://www.telecom.com.ar