Australian telco supplier NetComm Wireless enters voluntary administration

Telecom equipment supplier NetComm Wireless has entered voluntary administration after operating for over 40 years.

Documents listed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on March 13 show Kate Conneely and Rahul Goyal from Cor Cordis have been appointed administrators of the company.

NetComm Wireless provides telecommunications infrastructure equipment to telco companies in Australia and other markets. It saw large profits back in 2018 off the back of expansion in the 5G, fixed-wireless, fibre to the curb and industrial IoT spaces.

SmartCompany understands that a divestment process was run by Casa Systems — a US company that acquired NetComm back in 2019 — in the second half of 2023.

Casa originally purchased NetComm to add fixed wireless to its portfolio of offerings, as well as diversify its global reach and revenue streams.

While the process ran for several months and there were several interested parties, the bids were not accepted by Casa. As a result, the directors chose to appoint administrators instead in order to restructure and sell the company.

A challenging economic environment is understood to be playing a part in this decision. Casa Systems faced a tough Q3 in 2023, reporting a revenue of US$62.1 million but a significant net loss of US$25.6 million under GAAP.

This included substantial non-cash charges, such as inventory obsolescence, impairment loss on their corporate headquarters and workforce restructuring.

According to Cor Cordis, NetComm continues to operate on a going-concern basis. This includes re-establishing supply chains and liaising with customers regarding orders.

The administrators confirmed that it approved the first round of freight and goods going out to customers on Tuesday.

“We’re continuing to trade, we’ve kept everyone employed. We’re out there talking to our customers and our suppliers,” Kate Conneely, partner at Cor Cordis, said on a call with SmartCompany.

“Our objective is to sell this business to recapitalise to a new owner.”

An initial creditors meeting will be held virtually on March 21, until then it is unclear how much is currently owed.

This is a developing story.