Helios Towers (HTWS) H1 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Delivered record H1 2026 operational and financial performance, driven by record tenancy growth, disciplined execution, and operational excellence.

• Upgraded full-year 2026 guidance for tenancy additions, EBITDA, and recurring free cash flow, reflecting robust and accelerating customer demand.

• Announced inaugural interim dividend and continued share buybacks, marking a milestone in shareholder returns.

• Structural growth underpinned by a $5.9bn contracted revenue backlog and an average contract life of 6.5 years.

• Multi-decade growth runway supported by surging mobile infrastructure demand across Africa and the Middle East.

Financial highlights

• Adjusted EBITDA grew 14% year-over-year to $257m; recurring free cash flow up 52% to $106m; ROIC improved by 0.8ppt to 14.4%.

• Revenue increased 11% year-over-year to $466.3m, with 69% in hard currency and 70% from investment grade customers.

• Operating profit rose 22% to $163m; profit for the period was $21.7m, down from $30.9m in H1 2025 due to higher non-cash FX losses.

• Record 2,511 tenancy additions in H1; tenancy ratio increased to 2.26x with 34,455 tenancies and 15,270 sites.

• Net leverage reduced by 0.4x year-over-year to 3.4x; blended cost of debt at 6.7% with average maturity of four years.

Outlook and guidance

• Upgraded FY 2026 guidance: 3,500–4,000 tenancy additions, Adjusted EBITDA of $520m–$535m, recurring free cash flow of $220m–$235m.

• Discretionary CapEx guidance increased to $215m–$245m to support growth.

• Shareholder distributions of $76m planned for the year, with a $25m total dividend expected for FY 2026.

• Long-term outlook supported by an estimated 72,000 additional addressable tenancies by 2040, double the current footprint.