Helios Towers PLC (LSE:HTWS) said acquisitions and strong organic tenancy growth drove a 25% jump in first-half revenue.
"We have delivered strong organic tenancy growth in the first half of the year, which combined with the successful integration of acquired assets in Senegal, Madagascar and Malawi has resulted in impressive year-on-year financial performance,” commented Tom Greenwood, the chief executive officer of the telecoms infrastructure company.
Revenue in the six months to 30 June 2022 grew to US$265.4mln from US$212.4mln in the year-ago period.
Helios said the business was underpinned by long-term contracted revenues of US$4.2bn, of which 99% is from large multinational mobile network operators (MNOs), with an average remaining life of 7.2 years.
Adjusted underlying profit (EBITDA) climbed 19% to US$136.1mln, but the margin dropped by 3 percentage points year-on-year to 51%, reflecting costs related to the company’s ongoing market expansion and higher fuel costs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The FTSE 250 company reiterated its guidance for full-year adjusted EBITDA margin to fall to 51%-53% from 53.6% in 2021 due to the impact of new acquisitions and expansion costs.
Tenancies increased by 3,459 year-on-year to 20,549 tenants in the first half, reflecting 1,692 acquired tenancies in Malawi and Madagascar and 1,767 organic tenancy additions.
Sites grew by 2,091 to 10,694, with 1,213 sites acquired in Malawi and Madagascar and 878 organic site additions.
Helios repeated its guidance for 1,200-1,700 organic tenancy additions in 2022, of which 60% are expected to be new sites.
In a separate statement, the company announced that Kash Pandya, who retired as CEO last year, has decided to stand down from his role as non-executive deputy chairman with effect from 17 August 2022.