By Alessandro Parodi
(Reuters) -British telecoms infrastructure group Helios Towers said on Thursday it expects continued growth in 2025 as digitalisation drives demand in Africa and the Middle East.
Increasing data consumption and cellphone users in the region, which Helios Towers says has the highest penetration growth worldwide, have contributed to earnings beats and expansion among customers including Airtel Africa, Vodafone, Orange and Axian.
“That drives the need for more mobile antenna and basically more telecommunications infrastructure across any given country,” Helios Towers CEO Tom Greenwood told Reuters.
The adoption of 4G technology in Africa and 5G in Oman are gathering pace as people use more apps, streaming services, social media and generative AI, Greenwood added.
Helios Towers builds, owns and operates passive telecoms infrastructure for mobile network operators in Africa and the Middle East. Its largest markets are Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Oman.
It said it now expects full-year adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of about $420 million, at the higher end of its previous guidance, with further low double-digit growth in 2025.
Helios Towers also said it expects its tenancy ratio – the average number of tenants for each site – to grow to more than 2.1 by the end of 2025, from 2.04 at the end of September.
However, the London-listed stock fell as much as 4%, with a Berenberg analyst pointing to the impact of quarterly misses at some of its competitors and a relative slowing of revenues, which were down from the previous quarter at $194.8 million.
“While these (forecasts) were in line with current consensus estimates, Helios has a strong record of meeting or beating market expectations in recent times”, Berenberg said in a note.
Jefferies analysts said the upgraded guidance suggests steady progress through 2026.
Helios Towers’ third-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose 2% to $105.7 million, in line with a company-provided analyst consensus forecast. The number of tenants or operators using its infrastructure rose 2% to 29,021, beating estimates of 28,913.
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi; Editing by David Goodman and Alexander Smith)
