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Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
IHS Towers Publishes 2024 Sustainability Report
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2025-- IHS Holding Limited (NYSE: IHS) ('IHS Towers') group, one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, has today published its 2024 Sustainability Report. The report covers sustainability activities from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 and demonstrates IHS Towers' continued commitment to its stakeholders, including, but not limited to, its employees, customers, suppliers, local communities, regulators, governments and shareholders. IHS Towers' vision is to help create a connected world, where mobile connectivity promotes continued economic growth and social development. The communications infrastructure it provides is vital to enabling that connectivity. In 2024, IHS Towers continued to make progress in executing its four-pillar sustainability strategy – focusing on ethics and governance, environment and climate change, education and economic growth, our people and communities – which is detailed in this report. Sam Darwish, Chairman & CEO, IHS Towers, commented, 'In an increasingly connected world, our solutions help facilitate digital inclusion. As detailed in our 2024 Sustainability Report, we seek to further broaden access to the socioeconomic opportunities this presents through our community focused initiatives. In 2024, 55% of our sustainability spend focused on initiatives relating to our education and economic growth pillar. Through the development of ICT centers and digital kiosks, the delivery of STEM training programs, and the facilitation of school internet connectivity, we are helping connect the next generation to critical education resources. 2024 also marked the completion of our three-year partnership with Giga, a joint UNICEF and ITU initiative, and I am proud of the contribution IHS Towers has made to Giga's objective of connecting all schools in the world to the internet, and all children to information, opportunity and choice.' 2024 Sustainability Report Highlights As of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, we reported the following environmental, social and governance ('ESG') related progress: Environment Social Governance For more information, please visit About IHS Towers: IHS Towers is one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count and is solely focused on the emerging markets. The Company has over 39,000 towers across its eight markets, including Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia. For more information, please email: [email protected] or visit: Cautionary statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by relevant safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements (or their equivalent) of any applicable jurisdiction, including those contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act'), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 'Exchange Act'). All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as 'may,' 'will,' 'should,' 'expects,' 'plans,' 'anticipates,' 'could,' 'intends,' 'targets,' 'commits,' 'projects,' 'contemplates,' 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'forecast,' 'predicts,' 'potential' or 'continue' or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to statements regarding our business strategy, plans, market growth and our objectives our sustainability program and Carbon Reduction Roadmap. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to general macroeconomic conditions in the countries in which we operate; our inability to successfully execute our business strategy and operating plans, or deliver on our sustainability or environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy and initiatives under anticipated costs, timelines, and complexity, such as our Carbon Reduction Roadmap (Project Green); environmental liability; and the important factors discussed in the section titled 'Risk Factors' in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to us as of the date of this press release, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements. You should read this press release and the documents that we reference in this press release with the understanding that our actual future results, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. Additionally, we may provide information herein that is not necessarily 'material' under the federal securities laws for SEC reporting purposes, but that is informed by various ESG standards and frameworks (including standards for the measurement of underlying data), and the interests of various stakeholders. Much of this information is subject to assumptions, estimates or third-party information that is still evolving and subject to change. For example, our disclosures based on any standards may change due to revisions in framework requirements, availability of information, changes in our business or applicable government policies, or other factors, some of which may be beyond our control. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by applicable law, we do not assume, and expressly disclaim, any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, the information included in our 2024 Sustainability Report, including highlights provided in this press release, are subject to certain important disclaimers that should be read and considered in concert with such information. 1 ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System certification has been achieved in the UAE, UK and operating companies. 2 Copyright © 2025 Morningstar Sustainalytics. All rights reserved. This report contains information developed by Sustainalytics ( ). Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at View source version on For more information, please email:[email protected] visit: KEYWORD: RWANDA NORTH AMERICA EUROPE ZAMBIA UNITED STATES UNITED KINGDOM AFRICA NIGERIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MOBILE/WIRELESS NETWORKS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES INTERNET HARDWARE SUSTAINABILITY TECHNOLOGY CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY ENVIRONMENT URBAN PLANNING FINANCE ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) TELECOMMUNICATIONS SOURCE: IHS Holding Limited Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 05/27/2025 09:30 AM/DISC: 05/27/2025 09:31 AM
Business Wire
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
IHS Towers Publishes 2024 Sustainability Report
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IHS Holding Limited (NYSE: IHS) ('IHS Towers') group, one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, has today published its 2024 Sustainability Report. The report covers sustainability activities from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024 and demonstrates IHS Towers' continued commitment to its stakeholders, including, but not limited to, its employees, customers, suppliers, local communities, regulators, governments and shareholders. IHS Towers' vision is to help create a connected world, where mobile connectivity promotes continued economic growth and social development. The communications infrastructure it provides is vital to enabling that connectivity. In 2024, IHS Towers continued to make progress in executing its four-pillar sustainability strategy – focusing on ethics and governance, environment and climate change, education and economic growth, our people and communities – which is detailed in this report. Sam Darwish, Chairman & CEO, IHS Towers, commented, 'In an increasingly connected world, our solutions help facilitate digital inclusion. As detailed in our 2024 Sustainability Report, we seek to further broaden access to the socioeconomic opportunities this presents through our community focused initiatives. In 2024, 55% of our sustainability spend focused on initiatives relating to our education and economic growth pillar. Through the development of ICT centers and digital kiosks, the delivery of STEM training programs, and the facilitation of school internet connectivity, we are helping connect the next generation to critical education resources. 2024 also marked the completion of our three-year partnership with Giga, a joint UNICEF and ITU initiative, and I am proud of the contribution IHS Towers has made to Giga's objective of connecting all schools in the world to the internet, and all children to information, opportunity and choice.' 2024 Sustainability Report Highlights As of and for the year ended December 31, 2024, we reported the following environmental, social and governance ('ESG') related progress: Environment Carbon Reduction Roadmap: Reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2 kilowatt-hour emissions intensity by approximately 11% compared with 2023, with an approximate 20% reduction in emissions intensity since 2021 Invested $209.4 million in Project Green since the project began in 2022 Planted 7,800 seedlings in Brazil's Amazon region, restoring an additional four hectares of degraded area Partnered with WaterAid to construct rainwater harvesting systems at four schools in Nyamagabe District, Rwanda, providing more than 4,000 children and staff with clean water Social Introduced five Life Saving Rules and nine HSE Principles to further strengthen our approach to health and safety The rate of recordable work-related injuries among IHS employees decreased to 0.04, in comparison to 0.17 in 2023 27% of our employees were female and 73% were male, equal to the percentage reported in 2023 Employees completed 12 hours of training on average on the IHS Academy Spent $8.2 million on community-focused sustainability initiatives, bringing the total investment in our local communities to $37 million since 2017 Facilitated digital inclusion by: Training more than 100,000 students in digital skills through Nigeria's 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative Providing over 2,000 young people with new ICT and digital facilities in Cameroon and Rwanda Supporting over 5,250 students with STEM skills and training in Nigeria and Brazil Enhanced Giga's visibility analysis in Brazil: By integrating IHS Brazil data, Giga determined that the average distance from a school to the nearest tower was 0.85 kilometers Governance IHS South Africa achieved a Level 4 rating in its first Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) audit Maintained our ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System certification 1 In March 2025, we received an updated ESG Risk Rating from Morningstar Sustainalytics. Our ESG Risk Rating places us in the top 9% of all companies assessed by Morningstar Sustainalytics in the Telecommunication Services Industry 2 Continued driving high standards of integrity throughout our supply chain; 4,581 supplier employees completed training in topics relating to our Supplier Code of Conduct For more information, please visit About IHS Towers: IHS Towers is one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count and is solely focused on the emerging markets. The Company has over 39,000 towers across its eight markets, including Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia. For more information, please email: communications@ or visit: Cautionary statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by relevant safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements (or their equivalent) of any applicable jurisdiction, including those contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act'), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 'Exchange Act'). All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as 'may,' 'will,' 'should,' 'expects,' 'plans,' 'anticipates,' 'could,' 'intends,' 'targets,' 'commits,' 'projects,' 'contemplates," 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'forecast,' 'predicts,' 'potential' or 'continue' or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to statements regarding our business strategy, plans, market growth and our objectives our sustainability program and Carbon Reduction Roadmap. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to general macroeconomic conditions in the countries in which we operate; our inability to successfully execute our business strategy and operating plans, or deliver on our sustainability or environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy and initiatives under anticipated costs, timelines, and complexity, such as our Carbon Reduction Roadmap (Project Green); environmental liability; and the important factors discussed in the section titled 'Risk Factors' in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to us as of the date of this press release, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements. You should read this press release and the documents that we reference in this press release with the understanding that our actual future results, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. Additionally, we may provide information herein that is not necessarily 'material' under the federal securities laws for SEC reporting purposes, but that is informed by various ESG standards and frameworks (including standards for the measurement of underlying data), and the interests of various stakeholders. Much of this information is subject to assumptions, estimates or third-party information that is still evolving and subject to change. For example, our disclosures based on any standards may change due to revisions in framework requirements, availability of information, changes in our business or applicable government policies, or other factors, some of which may be beyond our control. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by applicable law, we do not assume, and expressly disclaim, any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, the information included in our 2024 Sustainability Report, including highlights provided in this press release, are subject to certain important disclaimers that should be read and considered in concert with such information. 1 ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System certification has been achieved in the UAE, UK and operating companies. 2 Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Q1 2025 IHS Holding Ltd Earnings Call
Sam Darwish; Chairman of the Board, Group Chief Executive Officer; IHS Holding Ltd Operator Good day and welcome to the IHS Holding Limited first quarter of 2025 earning results call for a three-month period ended March 301, 2025. Please note that today's conference is being webcast and recorded. If you'd like to ask a question, please press star and then one on your telephone keypad at any time. At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to Robert Berg. Please go ahead, sir. Thank you, operator. Thanks everyone for joining the call today. I'm Robert Berg, Head of Investor Relations here at IHS. With me today are Sam Darwish, our Chairman and CEO, and Steve Howden, our CFO. This morning, we filed our unaudited, condensed, consolidated interim financial statements for the three-month period ended March 30, 2025, with the SEC, which can also be found on the Investor Relations section of our website and issued a related earnings release, presentation, and supplemental debt. These are the consolidated results of IHS Holding Limited, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol, IHS, and which comprises the entirety of the group's operations. Before we discuss the results, I would like to draw your attention to a disclaimer set out at the beginning of the presentation on slide 2, which should be read in full along with the cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements set out in our earnings release and 6-K filed as well today. In particular, the information to be discussed may contain forward-looking statements which by their nature involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors, some of which are beyond our control that are difficult to predict. And other factors which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements, or industry results to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements or industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including those discussed in the risk factors section of our Form 20 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our other filings with the SEC. We'll also refer to non-IFRS measures including adjusted EBITDA, that we view as important in assessing the performance of our business; ALFCF, that we view as important assessing the liquidity of our business; and consolidated net leverage ratio, that we view as important in managing the capital resources of our business. A reconciliation of non-IFRS metrics to the nearest IFRS metrics can be found in our earnings presentation, which is available on the Investor Relations section of our websites. And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Sam Darwish, our Chairman and CEO. Sam Darwish Thanks, Robert. And welcome, everyone, to our first-quarter 2025 earnings results call. We're reporting a strong start to 2025 with solid growth across our key metrics of revenue, adjusted EBITDA and ALFCF, and a reduction in total CapEx, all in line with our expectations. As a result, we are pleased to reiterate all elements of our full year 2025 outlook. Our positive quarter results and momentum reflects one, the continuing macroeconomic stability in our countries; two, the continued strong secular trends that we are seeing across our business; and three, strong operational focus as we continue to benefit from the significant commercial and financial progress that we made in 2024 and continues into 2025. Looking at our revenue, we saw 26% organic growth driven by almost 8% constant currency growth as we saw increased revenues from co-location, these amendments, new sites, and CPI escalators. First quarter revenues also saw a significant benefit from our forex resets and power indexation, which play a vital role in helping to offset currency devaluation or movement in power prices. Our strong organic growth more than offset the impact of the Kuwait disposal, which we completed in December 2024, and some currency depreciation. Turning to profitability, our adjusted EBITDA reached $253 million in the quarter, with a margin of 57.5%, up 1,320 basis points compared to this time last year. ALFCF was $150 million during its first quarter of 2025, an increase of almost 250% year over year, driven by improved profitability and a rephasing of interest payments. Total CapEx was $44 million in the quarter, down 17.8% year over year, given our narrowed focus on capital and location. We continue to assess groupwide costs, CapEx structures, and new ways to operate our networks, including how we can introduce more technology, especially artificial intelligence, into our ways of working to help us realize future efficiencies. As we discussed in detail at our recent full year 2024 results, and as you can see from our first quarter results in 2025, we have made significant progress across a number of our strategic initiatives, and our focus on financial discipline and capital allocation is delivering sustained improvements in our profitability and cash flow generation. These improvements supplemented by select asset disposals have resulted in a further reduction in our consolidated net leverage ratio to 3.4 times down from 3.7 times at the end of 2024, and a strong liquidity position with over $900 million of available liquidity at the end of March. Following this strong start to the year, we are continuing to implement our strategy to further improve profitability and cash flow generation while strengthening our balance sheet, with the goal of maximizing returns for all our stakeholders. In this regard, we are pleased to today announce further progress in our strategic priority related to asset disposals as we have agreed to sell 100% of IHS Rwanda for an enterprise value of $274.5 million, implying a transaction multiple of 8.3 times adjusted EBITDA after (inaudible). The agreement to sell our Rwanda operations was carefully considered as part of our strategic initiatives, targeted at shareholder value creation options. The 8.3 times multiple achieved is materially higher than the IHS Group multiple, highlighting the value contained within our wider portfolio. We have enjoyed more than 10 years of commercial success in Rwanda and are deeply appreciative to our colleagues, customers, and the government of Rwanda for helping make IHS Rwanda the success it is today. This latest disposal in Rwanda comes after we disposed Kuwait and Peru in 2024, as well as exited the Egyptian market. Not only are we raising the capital we previously targeted, we are also streamlining our markets of focus that remain within the IHS Group. Please note that the quarter-on-quarter 0.3 times reduction in leverage from 3.7 multiples to 3.4 multiples does not reflect the proceeds from the Rwanda disposal. We will continue to assess if there are additional value creative disposal opportunities. Looking ahead, we remain excited by the strong growth opportunities across our footprint. underpinned by continued 5G deployment across our markets. Our confidence in the outlook for the remainder of the year is further supported by the improving backdrop within our two largest markets, Nigeria and Brazil. And with that, I will turn the call over to Steve. Thanks, Sam, and hello, everyone. Let's take a look at slide 8 where we show our 1Q '25 performance. Our results were in line with expectations and came with a backdrop of a more stable macroeconomic environment in Nigeria. As we look at the results, please note, firstly, the year-over-year comparisons are impacted by the late January 2024 devaluation of the NIRA, which dragged down the 1Q '24 comparator. Secondly, the December 2024 Kuwait disposal, meaning no meaner contribution now in 2025. And thirdly, the impact of the renewed and extended contracts with MTN Nigeria signed in August of last year, including associated site churn, continue to impact the comparisons. In terms of the results themselves, both towers and tenants were down approximately 3% and 1% respectively, year over year, while lease amendments increased by high-single digit percentages. The decline in both towers and tenants is primarily a reflection of the divestitures of towers in Kuwait and Peru, and excluding the impact of these disposals, we added 1,375 net tenants year on year. We also saw the initial impact of the 1,050 sites that MTN Nigeria will vacate this year. As of the end of Q1, 183 tenants, including 347 lease amendments, had churned with an approximate $1.6 million reduction in revenue year on year as a result. On a reported basis in the first quarter, revenue increased by approximately 5% year on year, with organic growth of almost 26%, more than offsetting the 14% depreciation of the NGN against the Dollar and the Kuwait disposal. As a reminder, Naira average FX rate was 1,316 to the Dollar in Q1 of last year and 1,527 to the Dollar in Q1 of this year. We should caution that given how the Naira has moved in 4Q '24, 1Q '25, and now into 2Q '25, we reset our Nigeria contracts at the beginning of January 2025 at a higher rate than the 1Q 25 average rate turned out to be, as the Naira was appreciating in the first quarter. This results in a 25% of FX tailwind in the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was up more than 36% year on year, while adjusted EBITDA margin was up 1,320 basis points, again, comparing to the low point of 1Q '24 as well as reflecting our continued cost control and the resilience of our financial model through contract resets. Meanwhile, ALFCF increased by approximately 248%, driven by improved profitability, a low quarter of maintenance CapEx, and a rephasing of interest payments between quarters following the November bond refinancing where our bond payments will now reflect in the second and fourth quarters of each year. To put some numbers to this, if we look solely at the phasing of interest on our various group level Dollar bonds, they carry interest of $11 million in each of Q1 and Q3 versus $70 million in each of Q2 and Q4. Our level of CapEx investment decreased by 18% in the quarter, largely driven by the pullback in CapEx as we continue to focus on improving cash generation. And finally, a consolidated net leverage ratio decreased to 3.4 times, having peaked at 3.9 times in the second and thirrd quarter of 2024, including a reduction of 0.3 times from the fourth quarter to the end of this quarter, well within our target of 3 to 4 times. Slide 9 shows the components of our 1Q '25 revenue on a consolidated basis where you can see how the business delivered a quarter of growth despite the impact of the Naira devaluation and the Kuwait disposal. From a constant currency perspective, revenue grew approximately 8%, driven primarily by CPI escalations, new co-locations, and new lease amendments. Positive signs of the fundamental underlying tenancy growth continuing across our key markets. The strong organic revenue growth of 26% was supplemented by the benefits of our FX resets and power protection mechanisms. The right side, again, shows the organic growth rates of each of our segments for the quarter where our Nigeria segment grew approximately 46%, including a large benefit from FX resets and despite the initial impact of the financial terms in the renewed and extended contracts with MTN Nigeria. On slide 10, you can see our consolidated revenue adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margins for 1Q '25. Specifically, in 1Q '25, our adjusted EBITDA was $253 million and adjusted EBITDA margin was 57.5%, continuing the trend of higher margins hosts the 1Q '24 dip from that Naira devaluation. Onto slide 11, we show adjusted levered free cash flow. In the first quarter of '25, we generated ALFCF of $150 million, a 248% increase year over year, in line with our expectations and primarily due to the increase in adjusted EBITA, low maintenance CapEx in the quarter, and a decrease in net interest paid driven by the rephasing of interest payments. As I mentioned just earlier, the bond payments will now reflect in the second and fourth quarter of the year. In addition, we benefited from the decrease in the withholding tax rate in Nigeria from 10% to 2%. Our ALFCF cash conversion rate was 59.3%. On to CapEx, and in the first quarter, CapEx of $44 million decreased 18% year on year, continuing last year's trend. The decrease was driven by lower CapEx on fiber and augmentation CapEx and a decline in new site CapEx, although we still retain a healthy level of new site build in Brazil. On the segment review on slide 12, I'll start, as usual, with Nigeria. And following the six rate hikes we saw in 2024, the Monetary Policy Committee has continued to keep interest rates steady, with the MPR at 27.5%. Nigeria's FX market stabilized in the first quarter of '25, and the Naira averaged 1,527 to the Dollar in the quarter, albeit an increase year over year, but down from the NGN1,629 as of the fourth quarter of 2024. USD liquidity remains good. We've seen a small decrease in the FX reserves to $38.3 billion at the end of March from $40.9 billion at the end of December last year. And inflation has remained stable at 24.2% as of March. The government continues to make macroeconomic progress, and investor confidence seems to be returning. For IHS in Nigeria, 1Q '25 revenue of $271 million increased 19% year on year on a reported basis, driven primarily by FX resets from the low of 1Q '24 to now, power indexation, escalations, and tenancy growth. Offsetting factors include the impact of the financial terms in the renewed MTN Nigeria MLAs, including the approximate $1.6 million reduction in revenue year on year from the associated reduction in tenancies and lease amendments that I mentioned earlier. Separately, lease amendments continue to be an important driver of growth, increasing 1.4% year on year as our customers add additional equipment to our sites, notwithstanding the MTN Nigeria churn. 1Q '25 segment adjusted EBITDA in Nigeria was $179 million, a 74.1% increase from a year ago. With the first quarter of last year negatively impacted by the Naira devaluation in that period. Segment adjusted EBITDA margin was up 2,080 basis points to 66%, given the increase in revenue we've already discussed, and along with the reduction in costs of sales and admin expenses primarily due to the devaluation of the Naira. In our sub-Saharan African segment, revenue decreased 8.1%, and segment adjusted EBITDA increased 2.9% year on year. This performance was primarily due to lower revenues, but also lower associated costs being recognized in South Africa following the unwind of the power managed Services Agreement with MTN South Africa that took effect in the second quarter of 2024. These revenue changes have no impact on the segment adjusted EBITDA. The performance has further benefited from new co-locations, lower power generation costs, security services, and maintenance costs. Segment adjusted EBITDA margin increased 640 basis points as a result to 59.4%. In our LatAm segment, towers and tenants grew by 6.7% and 8.2% respectively versus the first quarter of last year. Revenue decreased by 0.5% because of negative movements in FX rates, but was broadly offset by continued growth in tenants, lease amendments, and new sites. In Brazil, our second largest market with 8,400 towers, macro conditions were more benign this quarter as the Brazilian Real was largely flat against the dollar, and there were moderate increases in both interest rates and inflation. Moving to LatAm profitability, while segment adjusted EBITDA increased by 5%, segment adjusted EBITDA margin increased 420 basis points versus the first quarter of 2024, which mostly reflects a reduction in costs more than offsetting the decrease in revenue. As we mentioned last quarter, given our Kuwait disposal and our decision not to commence operations in Egypt, MINA is no longer a reportable segment. Moving to slide 14, we look at our capital structure and related items. At March 31, 2025, we had approximately $4 billion of external debt and IFRS 16 Lease liabilities. Of the $4 billion, approximately $2.2 billion represents our bond financings. Most recently, post the end of the first quarter in April this year, the outstanding balance of approximately $86 million equivalent on our Nigeria term loan was fully prepaid using local Naira cash. This Naira term loan carried a high interest rate and is in line with our focus to reduce debts, particularly high interest debts. Cash in cash equivalents was $629 million as of March 31, bringing our total liquidity to $929 million. In terms of where that cash is held, approximately 29% was held in Naira at our Nigeria business, but as I just explained, some of that local Naira cash was used to pay down debt post quarter end. Consequently, while our consolidated net debt was relatively flat at $3.3 billion quarter over quarter, our consolidated net leverage ratio of 3.4 times at the end of Q1 was down 0.3 times versus the end of December 2024. And as Sam previously highlighted, the 3.4 times leverage does not reflect any proceeds from the Rwanda disposal. We expect leverage to remain within the bottom half of our target 3 to 4 times net leverage ratio in 2025, supplemented by the cash proceeds from the Rwanda disposal once it closes and any other further disposals. Moving to slide 15. Given that the first quarter has been in line with our expectations, we are maintaining our 2025 guidance. As a reminder, our guidance shows further growth in 2025 versus 2024 in our revenues when excluding the impact of the Kuwait disposal and growth in adjusted EBITDA and ALFCF. A couple of points I'd like to further highlight. Firstly, we had a strong first quarter of ALFCF with $150 million generated in the quarter. This phasing of ALFCF through the year was expected and known to us when we set our guidance at the Q4 results, and as I mentioned earlier, the majority of our interest is paid in 2Q and 4Q. And given this and the timing of maintenance CapEx plans, we continue to expect to step down in ALFCF in the second quarter, leaving us on track for our 2025 outlook of $350 million to $370 million. And secondly, we continue to assume a full year of contribution from Rwanda in our guidance. However, we expect to close the disposal of our Rwandan operations announced today during the second half of 2025. And we -- should we need to update our outlook for a lower contribution during this year, we will do so following the completion of the transaction. This now brings us to the end of our formal presentation. We thank you for your time today, and operator, please now open the line for questions. Operator (Operator Instructions) James Schneider, Goldman Sachs. Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. I just wanted to sort of confirmed that the Q1 performance, which is quite strong relative to the street estimates, was indeed sort of in line or roughly in line with your expectations. Maybe anything that you think was a little bit better than you expected in the quarter. I think maybe some of the sub-Saharan Africa results were a little bit below expectations, but otherwise quite strong across the board. And maybe just kind of as you think about the outlook for 2025, significant beat relative to the street, how would you sort of encourage us to think about any risks to the remainder of the year? Is there anything in the underlying business that gives you pause, or do you think about the 2025 guidance reiteration as more conservatism? Thank you. Hey, James. Thanks for the question. So yeah, you're right, we had a good beat in Q1. You'll notice from the comments that we made a few moments ago that it was in line with our expectations. So to answer the very first part of your question, yes, the quarter was plus, minus as we expected. It was a good strong start to the year. I think a few things just to pull out from what I said a few moments ago in terms of some of the reasons for that. So from a revenue perspective, we carried a bit of a tailwind from an FX point of view, particularly in Nigeria in Q1. Given how the Naira was moving as we exited Q4, it appreciated into Q1, which meant that our contracts reset at a slightly higher rate than the average actually turned out to be in the quarter, so that then normalizes when we get into Q2. So there's a bit of a positivity that we're carrying in Q1 from that. And what else would I say in terms of the 1,050 tenancies that are churning from MTN Nigeria and that was a little bit slower than we had originally planned, still on track, but that continues to be a little bit of a tailwind in Q1 in terms of carrier performance, which is obviously kind of an indicator on the health of the industry. And we're continuing to see strong fundamentals from our key customers, particularly if you look at someone like Nigeria, where the 50% subscriber increase in tariff that they're allowed to pass in Q1, that's now starting to take effect, and we've seen in recent weeks. A number of our big customers there report really positive Q1s and also, significantly positive outlook for 2025 So yeah, all in all, in good shape, and probably the only other thing just to reiterate again, I mentioned it a few moments ago, in terms of ALFCF on the be -- a big chunk of that is to do with interest payment timing. We pay semiannual coupons on our bonds. They've rephased this year. We pay much more interest in Q2 and Q4 than in Q1 and Q3. So that's also the reason for that. But again, exactly in line with the full year and as expected. Thanks. Yeah. Sorry, James. I was going to say a second bucket of your question in terms of the rest of 2025, what do we think about in terms of any potential risks and therefore are we being conservative? Look, I think it's not long since we set guidance, so we're in that period of the year where we're obviously monitoring a lot of factors to see how the year pans out, no doubt we're seeing strength in a variety of elements of our business. And the macro in our markets is performing better than we had expected. It's probably a bit early to adjust for that, but that continues to be a positive. But as we know, and I'll answer your question on risks we see. We continue to live in an uncertain world globally from a macroeconomic perspective, and that does impact all corporates, and we just have to keep watching that kind of broader macroeconomic environment and how that filters into our country. We're in a reasonably fortunate position in our business that we don't have any sort of direct linkage to any kind of trade or tariff situations that we've seen in the last six weeks or so, but obviously, the global macro can be impacted. So that's probably the thing that we're looking out for most, otherwise the business is in pretty good shape. It's helpful color. Thank you. I just wanted to follow up regarding the the asset sale program, congratulations on on the agreement for Rwanda, but maybe can you give us a sense. I think, Sam, in your commentary, I think the language changed a little bit in terms of evaluating if other asset sales are warranted or would be attractive, so should I imply from that, infer from that that you've sort of done the initial tranche of what you initially had intended to do? And then anything else from here would be opportunistic, or are you still aggressively pursuing other options? Thank you. Sam Darwish Hi, James. Look, we have made material gains towards our strategic goals as established last year, and we continue to kind of like take action, including organic actions, and I think they're beginning to show in the results. Now, we still believe, however, that the share price is undervalued. So we will definitely continue to consider other options, alternatives, strategic, potentially even disposals, among other things, to unlock and return shareholder value. So that's a continuous program. I think just to add to that, James, we're still focused on the same pillars, right? So profitability and cash flow generation within the business. The asset disposals, yes, we've kind of done what we initially set out to do, but that doesn't mean we won't keep looking and we've streamlined the group, right? So we're in a more focused position now as a company and you know what it all kind of leads towards, excuse me, leads towards is revisiting our capital allocation. And probably towards the end of this year early next year in terms of what's next for us, we're continuing to make progress around the balance sheet, which is exactly what we said we wanted to do. So we're sort of heading into the direction we want to be in, a bit more execution over the next quarter or two or three. And you know, we're in, as I said, we're in pretty good shape. Operator Michael Rollins, Citi. Thanks for taking the questions and good morning. On the sale of Rwanda, can you give us a sense of what the annual organic growth is in that portfolio, relative to how you perceive growth in the rest of your portfolio just to kind of appreciate the characteristics of that asset versus what's left within the company. And then related to that, if we can extrapolate that a little bit in terms of the algorithms. So as you look out on a multi-year basis, how would you describe the annual financial growth algorithms? So you know, what organic revenue growth should be on average over a multi-year period, how that translates to EBITDA and then to the ALSCF per share growth rate? Thank you so much. Hey, Mike. So in terms of Rwanda, obviously, you know we're bound a little bit by what we have and haven't disclosed, but to give you an idea, that business is about a 2.05 lease up rate, so just over two unique tenants are on each tower, and it's a market with a really sort of two to three key carriers, right? So it's reached a point where a lot of the growth has happened. There is certainly still growth ahead of it in that market, Rwanda's a pretty forward thinking economy, they're looking at a lot of digitalization and they're looking at a lot of 4G and 5G rollout, so there is still some room to grow there. But you know, it came against the backdrop of us wanting to realize our own strategic initiatives. We feel like we've got a pretty good deal done there to a good partner in paradigm who know the African continent very well. So it was really a meeting of the minds in terms of achieving all the things we wanted to do. How does that compare to other segments in SSA? Look, I think we've said previously that if we walk through the SSA segment, you have countries like Rwanda, Zambia, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, they're all more growth-oriented businesses where I would expect to see kind of double-digit growth year on year. South Africa is a bit slower than that, we've always said that, it's probably more of a single-digit grower each year. So that's kind of the outlook in terms of that particular segment more broadly around the group that we continue to reiterate what we've said before, we want to be growing revenue at double digits, certainly organically, preferably in dollar terms. That is obviously not implicit within our guidance for this year, given the variety of things that the company is moving through, including some of the churn and we've disposed of businesses, which means the the base is smaller this year than it was last year. But when you look through our guidance, we've got an implied 12% organic growth at a revenue level, and we have a higher implied growth at EBITDA level and we have an even higher implied growth at ALFCF level. And that's how we kind of want to be looking at this business organically. Yes, we want to grow revenue, but we want to grow EBITDA quicker than we're growing revenue. We want to go ALFCF quicker than we're growing EBITDA such that we're a growth profitable, cash generative infrastructure play. Continue to target 60% plus EBITDA margin that will take some -- a number of years, but we continue to move forward with that. ALFCF continue to target to get our business itself into the mid-40s and then at some point, hopefully, we break the 50% margin level, so those are kind of the ways we think about the business as a whole. And if you think about returns of capital to shareholders, what's your sense on timing for an update there and how are you thinking about buybacks versus dividends versus just reducing your debt levels much further and you getting that down as much as you can over the next few years? Thanks. Yeah, so maybe I'll take those in reverse order. So you know, we've been very public and very consistent with the first part of our initiatives, which was to increase profitability, increase cash flow generation, raise some disposal proceeds from asset sales, and pay down some debt, okay, and we're obviously still executing against that. And we've announced today the Rwanda agreement and that's got to move through the process to completion and obviously realization of those proceeds. So debt paydown continues to be a key focus for us. One of the things which is within the disclosure today, it didn't happen in the quarter, it happened just after the quarter, we've paid down approximately $86 million of the term loan that we had in Nigeria. That was our highest interest-bearing facility in the in the group, so we pay that down post quarter and just with excess local cash. So all of the balance sheet initiatives continue at a pace and we feel pretty good about those leverage should be down towards the end of the year. And then as it goes to wider capital allocation and maybe taking a different route, you mentioned things like share buybacks like dividends absolutely on our radar, and that's kind of a topic that we're looking at as we get a little bit further into the execution of all the initiatives. So maybe a quarter or two's time, we'll be assessing that in the background and let's see towards the end of this year, early next year. Operator Gustavo Campos, Jefferies. Yes, thank you very much and congratulations on the results. I had a few questions here. First of all, do you still expect to see any growth -- EBITDA growth from Nigeria that would be related to the catch up effect of your FX resets, or do you think that the recovery growth driver is over now, and then that growth would be driven by start -- starting to be more driven by other factors like organically. That's my first question. Thank you. I mean, the FX research Gustavo operate on a quarterly basis, right? So it very much depends on what's happening with the currency movements against the Dollar. So every quarter, we look at what the Naira is to the Dollar and we update our currency resets according to that. So I'd like to say that the Naira is going to be stable going forward. It has been really for this year within a range. It's moved around between sort of 1,525 at the lows in Q1 and it's been 1,600 levels for a little while now. So hopefully, it's more stable, but yeah, the FX resets are really just a factor of what's happening with the currency. Yes, that was very clear. Thank you. But just to clarify, I was thinking about the catch up effects from previous quarters, assuming the Naira is stable at around 1,600 at around current levels, do you see that there's still like a catch up effect from the last 12 months given the the volatility that we've seen in the Naira. No, not in the last 12 months because all of our contracts in Nigeria are either monthly or quarterly resetting. So no, they're really kind of as current -- from a quarterly perspective, anyway, they're as current as they can be. Understood. Thank you very much. Also just trying to understand here on the Rwanda sale, one, how much cash are you were expecting to receive from this asset sales, trying to understand the debt and leases that may be attached to it. And how much EBITDA was generated on that on that asset over the last 12 months. Thank you. So it will be all cash received, so it's $274.5 million enterprise value, but there's no debt within that business. It's debt free, so it will effectively be straight through the proceeds, and the bid was 30 -- high 30s over the last 12 months. Understood, and that -- those proceeds are like after taxes, right? We should expect, kind of like immaterial tax impact from from that sale. Correct. All right, thank you very much. And then I was also looking to understand better you had half a billion to a billion asset sales target, I was wondering if now that you know we've moved forward with this program really well, can we get a sense here on whether you will be targeting perhaps the lower end of that range, closer to $50 billion or do you think there's the opportunity to go to all the $1 billion cash proceeds target, that would be very. Thank you. Yeah, I guess that was a little bit what Sam was saying a few moments ago. So we kind of got to plus or minus the bottom end of that range with the disposal of Kuwait and with the disposal of Rwanda, and what we're doing now is really, continuing to evaluate the share price has performed well this year in relative terms, but for us it's still undervalued and it's got a long way to go. So we're continuing to look at what else we can do as a business to Continue providing shareholder value. So yeah, we might be a little bit more opportunistic going forward in terms of disposals, but but certainly don't want anyone to think we're not still looking at things because we are, we're still focused on getting the share price up from where we are today, so that can come in lots of different forms. Sam Darwish But the balance sheet, Gustavo is in a very good shape at the moment with $900 million of liquidity leverage has gone down to 3.4 times every time. Even without including the proceeds of of of this accretive transaction which we have done so from a balance sheet point of view we're happy, but we continue again to keep drilling organically on rebalancing growth vis a vis cash cash flow generation. Having said that, Steve's point and what I tried to say earlier is spot on. We still believe the share price is undervalued. We're still committed to unlock value to shareholders, and we will keep exploring, looking, considering whether disposals, whether buybacks, whether dividends at the right time. This is a big focus of ours at the moment. Understood. Yeah, that's very clear. And last question, if I may, if you could elaborate here, what was the reduction of the MLAs in Nigeria attributed to, and would you expect that to continue for the rest of the year? That would be my last question and thanks a lot for all the details. So the only thing that's impacting MLAs, it's not really MLAs, but tenancies in Nigeria is to do with the 1,050 sites that we agreed with MTN would leave us during the course of 2025. So that's all as planned and publicly disclosed disclosed, back summer of last year. Operator (Operator Instrcutions) Stella Cridge, Barclays. Hi there. Afternoon, all. Many thanks for all of the updates. If I could ask on two areas just on Rwanda's side, could you just say specifically what government and regulatory approvals that you expect there or you need to get there, sorry, or any other items that need to be kind of tied up before that can close and when you actually get the cash, what specifically do you have in mind, would you potentially take out some bonds early? So that would be the first question. And the second one is I didn't see in the materials anything about upstreaming from Nigeria year-to-date. Was that because you were keen to accumulate the cash there to pay down the term loan or what was the market a little bit more difficult in terms of upstreaming and any additional color there would be great. Hi, Stella. So in terms of Rwanda on approvals, we need a customary approval, so things like the regulator, which is RA and governmental approval for communications infrastructure. So there's nothing out of the ordinary there, just the regular kind of regulatory and government approvals. Otherwise, that's it on the CPS. Cash proceeds when it comes, obviously can't talk specifically to bond plans. But things that we're focused on in our maturity waterfall, are things like the earlier amounts of bonds, some of them are callable now, some of them will be callable in the coming months towards the end of this year. And we're also looking at our highest interest bearing facilities around the group. I mentioned a few moments ago around Nigeria. We have other higher interest bearing facilities in places like Brazil as well. So we're kind of mixing around in terms of what we're going to do, but The strategy remains the same, reduce debt, reduce leverage, TRY and reduce dollar-based debt, and manage the interest expense and tenor of whatever is remaining in the group. So, that continues to be the plan. And then on upstreaming, no, you shouldn't read anything into any change of the language. The USD availability remains very good in Nigeria. And we did use obviously a bunch of our local cash post quarter end to pay down that term loan, but we did actually upstream $71 million in the quarter from Nigeria. So yeah, all is good and fine. Sam Darwish To be honest, Stella, we feel that that Nigeria is somehow getting back to business as usual, and this was an extremely important measure when things were tight and things were kind of like unorthodox in that country. Since the removal of the subsidy a while ago and then the unification of Forex, we feel that the current policies of CBN, Ministry of Finance, and the government are yielding results, and that's why we're showing we're seeing stability in the country and hopefully we continue to do that. So we're feeling this is more moving into business as usual than anything else. That's the only reason. Operator Thank you. That brings us to the end of the IHS Holding Limited first-quarter 2025 earnings results call. Should you have any questions, please contact the Investor Relations team via the email address, investorrelations@ The management team, thank you for your participation today and wish you a good day. Thank you. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
IHS Holding Limited Reports First Quarter 2025 Financial Results
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IHS Holding Limited (NYSE: IHS) ('IHS Towers' or the 'Company'), one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025. CONSOLIDATED HIGHLIGHTS – FIRST QUARTER 2025 The table below sets forth the select financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024: Financial Highlights Revenue of $439.6 million increased 5.2% year-on-year, with organic growth of 25.6% more than offsetting the impact of the 13.8% depreciation of the Nigerian Naira ('NGN' or 'Naira') versus the U.S. dollar ('USD') and the disposal of the company's Kuwait operations in December 2024 Organic growth of 25.6% was driven by 7.9% Constant Currency (1) growth as a result of increased revenue from Colocation, Lease Amendments, New Sites and escalators, with the remainder a result of foreign exchange ('FX') resets and power indexation Adjusted EBITDA of $252.6 million (up 36.4% year-on-year) resulted in an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 57.5%, an increase of 1,320 basis points year-on-year, driven by continued financial discipline, and with the first quarter of 2024 negatively impacted by NGN devaluation in that period. Income for the current period was $30.7 million Adjusted Levered Free Cash Flow ('ALFCF') of $149.9 million, with 247.7% growth driven by improved profitability and a re-phasing of interest payments between quarters following the November bond refinancing. Cash from operations was $216.3 million Capital expenditure ('Total Capex') of $43.6 million, down 17.8% year-on-year, reflecting actions taken to improve cash flow generation Consolidated net leverage ratio (2) of 3.4x, down 0.3x from the fourth quarter of 2024, within the target of 3.0x-4.0x First quarter 2025 financial results in line with expectations; full year 2025 outlook reiterated Strategic and Operational Highlights Announced, in May 2025, an agreement to dispose 100% of IHS Rwanda to Paradigm Tower Ventures at an enterprise value (3) of $274.5 million as part of the strategic initiatives targeted at shareholder value creation options Renewed MLA with Airtel Zambia covering approximately 1,100 tenancies until August 2035 Continued reduction in volatility of the NGN with 0.5% appreciation versus the USD during the quarter. USD availability remains in line with business requirements Continued year-on-year organic growth in Towers (39,212) and Tenants (59,606) reaching a Colocation Rate of 1.52x at the end of the first quarter. Lease Amendments increased during the period to 39,705 Sam Darwish, IHS Towers Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, 'This has been a strong start to 2025, with solid growth across our key metrics of revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and ALFCF, and a reduction in Total Capex, all in line with our expectations, and we are pleased to reiterate our full year 2025 outlook as a result. Our strong performance is a continuation of the trends we have seen in recent quarters as we benefit from the commercial and financial progress that was made during 2024 and into 2025. Our focus on financial discipline and capital allocation is delivering sustained improvements in our profitability and cash flow generation, and this, supplemented by select asset disposals, has resulted in a further reduction in our consolidated net leverage ratio to 3.4x, down from 3.7x at the end of 2024. The agreement to sell our Rwanda operations, announced today, for an enterprise value of $274.5 million, forms part of our strategic initiatives targeted at shareholder value-creation options and highlights the value contained within our wider portfolio. Looking ahead, we remain excited by the strong growth opportunities across our footprint, underpinned by continued 5G deployment across our markets. Our confidence in the outlook is further supported by the improving backdrop within Nigeria, our largest market with over 16,000 towers, with positive momentum driven by greater stability in the Naira and recent carrier tariff rate increases for our customers. Following this strong start to the year, we will continue to implement our strategy to further improve profitability and cash flow generation while strengthening our balance sheet, with the goal of maximizing returns for all our stakeholders.' (1) "Constant Currency' combines the impact from CPI escalation, New Sites, new Colocation, new Lease Amendments, fiber and other revenues, as captured in organic revenue. Refer to 'Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects' in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 for the definition of organic revenue and additional information. (2) Consolidated net leverage ratio is a non-IFRS financial measure. See 'Use of Non-IFRS financial measures' for additional information, definition and a reconciliation to the most comparable IFRS measure. (3) Enterprise value is defined as anticipated consideration to be received on a borrowings and cash free basis. Refer to the Activities after the reporting period ended March 31, 2025 section for further information. Expand Full Year 2025 Outlook Guidance The following full year 2025 guidance is based on a number of assumptions that management believes to be reasonable and reflects the Company's expectations as of May 20, 2025. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates as a result of various factors, and the Company refers you to the cautionary language regarding 'forward-looking' statements included in this press release when considering this information. The Company's outlook is based on the following: Organic revenue Y/Y growth of approximately 12% (at the mid-point) Average foreign currency exchange rates to 1.00 U.S. dollar for January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025, for key currencies: (a) 1,640 Nigerian Naira; (b) 5.90 Brazilian Real (c) 0.96 Euros (d) 18.50 South African Rand Full year contribution from Rwanda. No contribution from Kuwait and Peru operations sold during 2024 Revenue withholding tax in Nigeria reduced from 10% to 2% effective January 1, 2025 Approximately 500 Build-to-suit sites, of which approximately 400 sites in Brazil Consolidated net leverage ratio (1) target of 3.0x-4.0x RESULTS OF OPERATIONS Impact of Naira devaluation In November 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria directed authorized dealers to use a new trading platform - Bloomberg BMatch as the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System ('EFEMS') for foreign exchange related activities. It is expected that the platform will enhance the integrity and operational efficiency of the foreign exchange market by providing greater price discovery. During the period to March 31, 2025, the Naira exchange rate to the U.S. dollar was relatively stable compared to 2023 and 2024 as shown below: Due to the Naira devaluation, Revenue and segment Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2025 were negatively impacted by $60.9 million and $40.6 million, respectively, compared to the same period in 2024. In the first quarter of 2025, the foreign exchange resets in some of our contracts partially offset these impacts. The appreciation of the Naira in the first quarter of 2025 resulted in unrealized foreign exchange gains of $11.9 million on U.S. dollar denominated intercompany loans advanced to our Nigerian operations. The unrealized gains and losses are recorded in finance costs, although Group net assets are not impacted since equal and opposite gains and losses are recorded in equity on the retranslation of the Nigerian operations' assets and liabilities (which include these loans). Results for the three months ended March 31, 2025 versus 2024 Revenue Revenue for the three month period ended March 31, 2025 ('first quarter') of $439.6 million increased 5.2% year-on-year, driven primarily by organic revenue (1) which increased by $107.2 million (25.6%) as a result of foreign exchange resets, power indexation, escalations, and continued growth in revenues from Tenants, Lease Amendments and New Sites. This growth was partially offset by the initial impact of the financial terms in the renewed and extended contracts with MTN Nigeria signed during the third quarter of 2024, including the initial Churn as part of the approximately 1,050 sites MTN Nigeria will vacate from January 1, 2025 onwards. Inorganic revenue (1) decreased by $11.2 million, primarily due to the disposal of operations in Kuwait in December 2024. The increase in organic revenue was partially offset by the non-core (1) impact of adverse movements in foreign exchange rates used to translate the results of foreign operations of $74.1 million, or 17.7%, of which $60.9 million was due to the devaluation of the Naira. Refer to the revenue component of the segment results section of this discussion and analysis for further details. For the first quarter, there was a year-on-year net decrease in Towers of 1,066 (or a year-on-year net increase of 676 Towers when excluding the impact of the Kuwait and Peru disposals), resulting in total Towers of 39,212 at the end of the period. The decrease primarily resulted from the divestiture of 1,678 Towers in Kuwait and 64 Towers in Peru. The addition of 800 New Sites year-on-year, was partially offset by 111 Churned and 13 decommissioned. Tenants declined 391 year-on-year (including the net divestiture of 1,700 and 66 from Kuwait and Peru, respectively, and a reduction of 529 Tenants in the third quarter of 2024, occupied by our smallest Key Customer on which we were not recognizing revenue), resulting in total Tenants of 59,606 and a Colocation Rate of 1.52x at the end of the first quarter. Excluding the impact of the Kuwait and Peru disposals, we added 1,375 net new tenants year-on-year. Year-on-year, we added 2,579 Lease Amendments, driven primarily by 5G and fiber upgrades resulting in total Lease Amendments of 39,705 at the end of the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $252.6 million, resulting in an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 57.5%. Adjusted EBITDA increased 36.4% year-on-year in the first quarter reflecting the increase in revenue described above, in combination with a $41.6 million decrease in cost of sales included within Adjusted EBITDA. The reduction in cost of sales was primarily driven by a reduction in net FX losses on cost of sales of $32.1 million within other cost of sales, a decrease in power generation costs ($3.2 million), tower repairs and maintenance costs ($2.6 million), security services costs ($2.1 million), and staff costs ($0.6 million). The $3.9 million reduction in administrative expenses included within Adjusted EBITDA was driven by a devaluation of the Naira against the U.S. dollar, supported by cost saving initiatives implemented during the period. Income for the period Income for the period in the first quarter of 2025 was $30.7 million, compared to a loss of $1,557.3 million for the first quarter of 2024. This was primarily driven by a $1,458.4 million decrease in net finance costs. The decrease in net finance costs resulted from the impact of changes in the Naira exchange rate in the respective quarters on USD denominated intercompany loans advanced to our Nigerian operations. In the first quarter of 2024, the Naira devaluation led to a foreign exchange loss, whereas in the current quarter, the Naira appreciated resulting in a gain. Administrative expenses also decreased by $103.6 million, due to the recognition of an $87.9 million impairment in the IHS Latam tower businesses group as of March 31, 2024. These are coupled with the increase in revenue and decrease in costs of sales as discussed above. Cash from operations Cash from operations for the first quarter of 2025 was $216.3 million, compared to $93.0 million for the first quarter of 2024. The increase reflected a decreased outflow in working capital of $63.0 million (inclusive of a withholding tax receivable decrease of $8.3 million) and an increase in operating income before working capital changes of $60.3 million. ALFCF ALFCF for the first quarter of 2025 was $149.9 million, compared to $43.1 million for the first quarter of 2024. The increase in ALFCF was primarily due to an increase in operating income before working capital movements of $60.3 million described above, a $28.0 million reduction in net interest paid (driven by a re-phasing of interest payments between quarters as a result of the November 2024 bond refinancing), a $9.9 million reduction in lease and rent payments and an $8.3 million decrease in withholding tax. These were partially offset by an increase in maintenance capex of $3.4 million and income taxes paid of $2.9 million. Set out below are Revenue and segment Adjusted EBITDA for each of our reportable segments, for the three month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024: Nigeria First quarter revenue increased 19.1% year-on-year to $271.4 million, primarily driven by organic growth which more than offset the impact from the devaluation of the NGN versus the U.S. dollar. Organic revenue increased by $104.5 million (45.9%) year-on-year driven primarily by foreign exchange resets, diesel prices and escalations, as well as continued growth in revenue from Colocation and Lease Amendments. This growth was partially offset by the initial impact of the financial terms in the renewed and extended contracts with MTN Nigeria signed during the third quarter of 2024, including the initial Churn as part of the approximately 1,050 sites MTN Nigeria will vacate from January 1, 2025 onwards. The increase in organic growth was partly offset by the impact of negative movements in foreign exchange rates used to translate the results of foreign operations, with an average Naira rate of ₦1,527 to $1.00 in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the average rate of ₦1,316 to $1.00 in the first quarter of 2024. This led to a non-core decline of $60.9 million, or 26.7% year-on-year. Tenants decreased by 420 year-on-year, with growth of 594 from Colocation and 87 from New Sites, more than offset by 1,101 Churned (which includes, for the third quarter of 2024, 529 Tenants occupied by our smallest Key Customer on which we were not recognizing revenue), while Lease Amendments increased by 477 primarily due to 3G and fiber upgrades. Segment Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter increased 74.1% year-on-year to $179.2 million, resulting in an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 66.0%. The year-on-year increase in segment Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter primarily reflects the increase in revenue described above, in combination with a reduction in cost of sales and administrative expenses included within segment Adjusted EBITDA, primarily due to the devaluation of the Naira which is used to translate the results of our Nigeria operations. During the first quarter the decrease in costs of sales was primarily driven by a $31.6 million reduction in net FX losses. There was a year-on-year increase in the cost of diesel and electricity ($3.8 million) and a reduction in staff costs ($1.8 million) and tower repairs and maintenance costs ($0.2 million). SSA First quarter revenue declined 8.1% year-on-year at $120.7 million, primarily driven by movements in organic revenue, which decreased by $6.0 million, or 4.6%, due to factors including lower power pass-through revenues of $6.3 million being recognized after the changes in our agreements with MTN South Africa relating to the provision of power Managed Services. These changes to power pass-through impact revenue but have no impact on segment Adjusted EBITDA. Other factors impacting organic revenue include growth in new Tenants, Colocations and Lease Amendments, together with escalations and foreign exchange resets. The overall decrease in revenue was also impacted by the reduction in non-core revenues as a result of negative movements in foreign exchange rates of $4.6 million, or 3.5%. Tenants increased by 868 year-on-year, including 916 from Colocation and 98 from New Sites, partially offset by 146 from Churn, while Lease Amendments increased by 1,688. Segment Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter grew 2.9% year-on-year to $71.7 million, resulting in an Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 59.4%. The year-on-year increase in segment Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter primarily reflected an $11.3 million decrease in costs included within Adjusted EBITDA, which more than offset the reduction in revenue. The reduction in costs was driven by reduced power generation costs ($6.5 million), security services costs ($2.7 million) and tower repairs and maintenance costs ($2.2 million), largely as a result of the changes in our agreements with MTN South Africa described above. Latam First quarter revenue decreased 0.5% year-on-year to $47.5 million and was primarily driven by the non-core impact of adverse movements in foreign exchange rates of $8.6 million, or 18.1%. Organic revenue increased 18.1% in the quarter, or $8.7 million, driven by a one-off increase in revenues from our customer Oi S.A. ('Oi Brazil') of $3.6 million after their judicial recovery proceedings, and continued growth in Tenants, Lease Amendments and New Sites. Tenants increased by 855 year-on-year, including 610 from New Sites and 350 from Colocation, partially offset by 39 Churned and net divestiture of 66 due to the disposal of Peru, while Lease Amendments increased by 414. First quarter segment Adjusted EBITDA increased 5.3% to $35.6 million for a segment Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 75.0%, and primarily reflected a $2.0 million reduction in costs, which more than offset the decrease in revenue described above. The reduction in costs was driven by a decrease in staff costs ($2.7 million) and site rental costs ($0.5 million), more than offsetting an increase in tower repairs and maintenance costs ($0.5 million) and security services costs ($0.4 million). MENA On December 19, 2024, the Company completed the disposal of its 70% interest in IHS Kuwait Limited, resulting in a year-on-year reduction to revenue and segment Adjusted EBITDA of $10.9 million and $6.1 million, respectively, in the first quarter of 2025 when compared to the first quarter of 2024. The revenue from the first quarter of 2024 is captured within inorganic revenue. As of the end of the first quarter of 2024, the MENA segment had 1,672 Towers and 1,694 Tenants. Following completion of the Kuwait Disposal in December 2024, these Towers and Tenants were deconsolidated in December 2024. Set out below is the capital expenditure for the three month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 for each of our reporting segments: During the first quarter of 2025, Total Capex was $43.6 million, compared to $53.1 million for the first quarter of 2024. The decrease is primarily driven by lower capital expenditure in our Latam segment reflecting the actions we are taking to improve cash generation and to narrow our focus on capital allocation. Nigeria The 5.5% year-on-year decrease for the first quarter was primarily driven by decreases related to fiber ($4.2 million), augmentation ($3.4 million) and New Sites ($0.6 million), partially offset by increases in other capital expenditure ($4.6 million) and maintenance ($2.9 million). SSA The 28.0% year-on-year increase for the first quarter was primarily driven by increases in augmentation ($2.6 million) and maintenance ($1.6 million), partially offset by a decrease related to New Sites ($1.4 million) and other capital expenditure ($1.0 million). Latam The 30.9% year-on-year decrease for the first quarter was primarily driven by decreases related to New Sites ($4.8 million), fiber business ($4.4 million), maintenance ($0.9 million) and other capital expenditure ($0.7 million). FINANCING ACTIVITIES FOR PERIOD JANUARY 01, 2025 TO MARCH 31, 2025 There were no significant financing activities during the first quarter of 2025. ACTIVITIES AFTER THE REPORTING PERIOD ENDED MARCH 31, 2025 Sale of IHS Rwanda Limited On May 20, 2025, the Group announced it has agreed to sell 100% of IHS Rwanda Limited ('IHS Rwanda'), a wholly owned subsidiary, to Paradigm Rwanda Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Paradigm Tower Ventures, for total consideration of up to $274.5 million, which includes deferred consideration of $70.0 million and $24.5 million payable up to two and three years, respectively, from the date of closing and an earn out of up to $5.0 million dependent on the future performance of IHS Rwanda. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including government and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second half of 2025. Nigeria (2023) Term Loan In April 2025, INT Towers Limited fully prepaid the outstanding balance of NGN 132 billion (approximately $85.8 million) on its term loan originally maturing in January 2028. The prepayment was made using excess cash within the Nigeria segment in order to pay off a term loan which was bearing significantly higher interest rates than the Group average, in line with the Company's strategic priorities. Conference Call IHS Towers will host a conference call on May 20, 2025, at 8:30am ET to review its financial and operating results. Supplemental materials will be available on the Company's website, The conference call can be accessed by calling +1 646 233 4753 (U.S./Canada) or +44 20 3936 2999 (UK/International). The call ID is 013682. A simultaneous webcast and replay will be available in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website, on the Earnings Materials page. Upcoming Conferences and Events IHS Towers management is expected to participate in the upcoming conference outlined below, dates noted are subject to change. Visit for additional conferences information. Barclays Emerging Market Corporate Days 2025: A Sustainable Future (Virtual) – June 24 and 25, 2025 About IHS Towers IHS Towers is one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count and is solely focused on the emerging markets. The Company has over 39,000 towers across its eight markets, including Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia. For more information, please email: communications@ or visit: For more information about the Company and our financial and operating results, please also refer to the 1Q25 Supplemental Information deck posted to our Investors Relations website at This press release contains forward-looking statements. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by relevant safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements (or their equivalent) of any applicable jurisdiction, including those contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act'), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 'Exchange Act'). All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release may be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as 'may,' 'will,' 'should,' 'expects,' 'plans,' 'anticipates,' 'could,' 'intends,' 'targets,' 'commits,' 'projects,' 'contemplates,' 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'forecast,' 'predicts,' 'potential' or 'continue' or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, future organic growth, anticipated results for the fiscal year 2025 (including our ability to enhance profitability and cash flow generation) industry and business trends, business strategy and plans, shareholder value creation (including our ongoing strategic review and related productivity enhancements and cost reductions, as well as our ability to refinance or meet our debt obligations), our market growth, position and our objectives for future operations, including our ability to maintain relationships with customers, the potential benefit of the terms of our contract renewals the impact (illustrative or otherwise) of the renewed agreements with MTN Nigeria (including certain rebased fee components) on our financial results, the impact of currency and exchange rate fluctuations (including the fluctuations of the Naira) and other economic and geopolitical factors on our future results and operations, the outcome and potential benefit of our ongoing strategic review, including our ability to make commercial progress, increase Adjusted EBITDA and cash flow generation and reduce debt, our objectives for future operations, our participation in upcoming presentations and events, and the timing of any of the foregoing. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: non-performance under or termination, non-renewal or material modification of our customer agreements; volatility in terms of timing for settlement of invoices or our inability to collect amounts due under invoices; a reduction in the creditworthiness and financial strength of our customers; the business, legal and political risks in the countries in which we operate; general macroeconomic conditions in the countries in which we operate and the wider global economy, including any impact of potential tariffs by foreign governments; changes to existing or new tax laws, rates or fees; foreign exchange risks, particularly in relation to the Nigerian Naira, and/or ability to hedge against such risks in our commercial agreements or to access U.S. dollars in our markets; the effect of regional or global health pandemics, geopolitical conflicts and wars and acts of terrorism including, but not limited to, or as a result of, political instability, religious differences, ethnicity and regionalism in emerging and less developed markets; our inability to successfully execute our business strategy and operating plans, including our ability to increase the number of Colocations and Lease Amendments on our Towers and construct New Sites or develop business related to adjacent telecommunications verticals (including, for example, relating to our fiber businesses in Latin America and elsewhere) or deliver on our sustainability or environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy and initiatives under anticipated costs, timelines, and complexity, such as our Carbon Reduction Roadmap (and Project Green); our inability to successfully execute our business strategy and operating plans, and manage our growth; our reliance on third-party contractors or suppliers, including failure, underperformance or inability to provide products or services to us (in a timely manner or at all) due to sanctions regulations, supply chain issues or for other reasons; our estimates and assumptions and estimated operating results may differ materially from actual results; increases in operating expenses, including fluctuating costs for diesel or ground leases; failure to renew or extend our ground leases, or protect our rights to access and operate our Towers or other telecommunications infrastructure assets; loss of tenancies or customers; risks related to our indebtedness; changes to the network deployment plans of mobile operators in the countries in which we operate; a reduction in demand for our services; the introduction of new technology reducing the need for tower infrastructure and/or adjacent telecommunication verticals; an increase in competition in the telecommunications tower infrastructure industry and/or adjacent telecommunication verticals; our failure to integrate recent or future acquisitions; the identification by management of material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, which could affect our ability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis or cause us to fail to meet our future reporting obligations; increased costs, harm to reputation, or other adverse impacts related to increased intention to and evolving expectations for environmental, social and governance initiatives; our reliance on our senior management team and/or key employees; failure to obtain required approvals and licenses for some of our sites or businesses or comply with applicable regulations; inability to raise financing to fund future growth opportunities or operating expense reduction strategies; environmental liability; inadequate insurance coverage, property loss and unforeseen business interruption; compliance with or violations (or alleged violations) of laws, regulations and sanctions, including but not limited to those relating to telecommunications regulatory systems, tax, labor, employment (including new minimum wage regulations), unions, health and safety, antitrust and competition, environmental protection, consumer protection, data privacy and protection, import/export, foreign exchange or currency, and of anti-bribery, anti-corruption and/or money laundering laws, sanctions and regulations; disruptions in our supply of diesel or other materials, as well as related price fluctuations; legal and arbitration proceedings; our reliance on shareholder support (including to invest in growth opportunities) and related party transaction risks; risks related to the markets in which we operate, including but not limited to local community opposition to some of our sites or infrastructure, and the risks from our investments into emerging and other less developed markets; injury, illness or death of employees, contractors or third parties arising from health and safety incidents; loss or damage of assets due to security issues or civil commotion; loss or damage resulting from attacks on any information technology system or software; loss or damage of assets due to extreme weather events whether or not due to climate change; failure to meet the requirements of accurate and timely financial reporting and/or meet the standards of internal control over financial reporting that support a clean certification under the Sarbanes Oxley Act; risks related to our status as a foreign private issuer; and the important factors discussed in the section titled 'Risk Factors' in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to us as of the date of this press release, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements. You should read this press release and the documents that we reference in this press release with the understanding that our actual future results, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. Additionally, we may provide information herein that is not necessarily 'material' under the federal securities laws for SEC reporting purposes, but that is informed by various ESG standards and frameworks (including standards for the measurement of underlying data), and the interests of various stakeholders. Particularly in the ESG context, materiality is subject to various definitions that often differ from, and are generally more expansive than, the definition under US federal securities laws. Much of this information is subject to assumptions, estimates or third-party information that is still evolving and subject to change. For example, we note that standards and expectations regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and the processes for measuring and counting GHG emissions and GHG emissions reductions are evolving, and it is possible that our approaches both to measuring our emissions and any reductions may be at some point, either currently or in future, considered by certain parties to not be in keeping with best practices. In addition, our disclosures based on any standards may change due to revisions in framework requirements, availability of information, changes in our business or applicable government policies, or other factors, some of which may be beyond our control. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by applicable law, we do not assume, and expressly disclaim, any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, references to any website or other documents contained in this press release are provided for convenience only, and their content is not incorporated by reference into this press release. FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2025, AND 2024 CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION (UNAUDITED) AT MARCH 31, 2025, AND DECEMBER 31, 2024 March 31, December 31, $'million $'million Non‑current assets Property, plant and equipment 1,450.1 1,352.7 Right-of-use assets 650.4 699.1 Goodwill 417.8 403.2 Other intangible assets 696.7 674.0 Deferred income tax assets 76.1 73.3 Derivative financial instrument assets 32.4 29.4 Trade and other receivables 131.4 121.0 3,454.9 3,352.7 Current assets Inventories 44.3 30.6 Income tax receivable 2.5 2.3 Trade and other receivables 285.4 313.4 Cash and cash equivalents 629.0 578.0 961.2 924.3 TOTAL ASSETS 4,416.1 4,277.0 Non‑current liabilities Trade and other payables 6.0 5.2 Borrowings 3,167.5 3,219.2 Lease liabilities 490.8 470.5 Provisions for other liabilities and charges 82.7 83.8 Deferred income tax liabilities 98.0 100.5 3,845.0 3,879.2 Current liabilities Trade and other payables 398.3 422.5 Provisions for other liabilities and charges 0.2 0.2 Derivative financial instrument liabilities 10.2 10.2 Income tax payable 47.7 49.9 Borrowings 215.1 128.7 Lease liabilities 84.0 82.1 755.5 693.6 TOTAL LIABILITIES 4,600.5 4,572.8 Stated capital 5,418.4 5,403.1 Accumulated losses (6,892.3) (6,925.4) Other reserves 1,121.6 1,067.7 Equity attributable to owners of the Company (352.3) (454.6) Non‑controlling interests 167.9 158.8 TOTAL EQUITY (184.4) (295.8) TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 4,416.1 4,277.0 Expand FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2025, AND 2024 $'million $'million $'million $'million $'million $'million At January 1, 2024 5,394.8 (5,293.4) 8.4 109.8 237.5 347.3 Exercise of share options 2.9 — (2.9) — — — Share‑based payment expense — — 3.3 3.3 — 3.3 Total transactions with owners 2.9 — 0.4 3.3 — 3.3 Loss for the period — (1,553.4) — (1,553.4) (3.9) (1,557.3) Other comprehensive income/(loss) — — 1,050.2 1,050.2 (6.7) 1,043.5 Total comprehensive (loss)/income — (1,553.4) 1,050.2 (503.2) (10.6) (513.8) At January 1, 2025 5,403.1 (6,925.4) 1,067.7 (454.6) 158.8 (295.8) Exercise of share options 15.3 — (15.3) — — — Share‑based payment expense — — 5.5 5.5 — 5.5 Total transactions with owners 15.3 — (9.8) 5.5 — 5.5 Income/(loss) for the period — 33.1 — 33.1 (2.4) 30.7 Other comprehensive income — — 63.7 63.7 11.5 75.2 Total comprehensive income — 33.1 63.7 96.8 9.1 105.9 At March 31, 2025 5,418.4 (6,892.3) 1,121.6 (352.3) 167.9 (184.4) Expand FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2025, AND 2024 Three months ended March 31, 2025 2024 $'million $'million Cash flows from operating activities Cash from operations 216.3 93.0 Income taxes paid (16.0) (13.1) Payment for rent — (4.1) Net cash from operating activities 200.3 75.8 Cash flow from investing activities Purchase of property, plant and equipment (47.1) (61.0) Payment in advance for property, plant and equipment (9.4) (4.3) Purchase of software and licenses (0.1) (1.6) Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment 0.7 0.9 Insurance claims received 0.1 — Interest received 9.3 4.0 Deposit of short-term deposits (1.8) (30.3) Repayment of short-term deposits 9.1 202.8 Net cash (used in)/from investing activities (39.2) 110.5 Cash flows from financing activities Proceeds received from issuance of borrowings (net of transaction costs) — 380.4 Repayment of borrowings (20.5) (328.7) Fees on borrowings and derivative instruments (4.5) (3.3) Interest paid (55.6) (81.3) Payment for the principal portion of lease liabilities (11.4) (17.1) Interest paid for lease liabilities (13.1) (13.2) Interest paid on derivative instruments (3.0) — Net loss settled on derivative instruments — (20.1) Net cash used in financing activities (108.1) (83.3) Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 53.0 103.0 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 578.0 293.8 Exchange differences (2.0) (63.6) Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 629.0 333.2 Expand Use of Non-IFRS financial measures Certain parts of this document contain non-IFRS financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Levered Free Cash Flow ('ALFCF') and consolidated net leverage ratio. The non-IFRS financial information is presented for supplemental informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with Accounting Standards as issued by International Accounting Standards Board ('IFRS ® Accounting Standards'), and may be different from similarly titled non-IFRS measures used by other companies. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin We define Adjusted EBITDA (including by segment) as (loss)/income for the period, before income tax expense/(benefit), finance costs and income, depreciation and amortization, net impairment/(reversal of impairment) of withholding tax receivables, impairment of goodwill, business combination transaction costs, net impairment/(reversal of impairment) of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets excluding goodwill and related prepaid land rent, reversal of provision for decommissioning costs, net (gain)/loss on sale of assets, share-based payment (credit)/expense, insurance claims, gain on disposal of subsidiary and certain other items that management believes are not indicative of the core performance of our business. We define Adjusted EBITDA Margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue for the applicable period, expressed as a percentage. We believe Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are useful to investors and are used by our management for measuring profitability and allocating resources, because they exclude the impact of certain items that have less bearing on our core operating performance such as interest expense and taxes. We believe that utilizing Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin allows for a more meaningful comparison of operating fundamentals between companies within our industry by eliminating the impact of capital structure and taxation differences between the companies. Adjusted EBITDA measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in their evaluation of companies comparable to us, many of which present an Adjusted EBITDA-related performance measure when reporting their results. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are used by different companies for differing purposes and are often calculated in ways that reflect the circumstances of those companies. You should exercise caution in comparing Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin as reported by us to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin as reported by other companies. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are unaudited and have not been prepared in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin are not measures of performance under IFRS Accounting Standards and you should not consider these as an alternative to (loss)/income or (loss)/income margin for the period or other financial measures determined in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation. Some of these limitations are: they do not reflect interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our indebtedness; although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often need to be replaced in the future and Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin do not reflect any cash requirements that would be required for such replacements; some of the items we eliminate in calculating Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin reflect cash payments that have less bearing on our core operating performance, but that impact our operating results for the applicable period; and the fact that other companies in our industry may calculate Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin differently than we do, which limits their usefulness as comparative measures. Accordingly, investors and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on Adjusted EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA Margin. The following is a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin to the most directly comparable IFRS Accounting Standards measure, which are income/(loss) and income/(loss) margins, respectively, for the periods presented: (a) Finance costs consist of interest expense and loan facility fees on borrowings, the unwinding of the discount on our decommissioning liability and lease liability, net realized and unrealized foreign exchange losses arising from financing arrangements and net realized and unrealized losses from valuations of financial instruments. Finance income consists of interest income from bank deposits, net realized and unrealized foreign exchange gains arising from financing arrangements and net realized and unrealized gains from valuations of financial instruments. (b) Withholding tax primarily represents amounts withheld by customers in Nigeria and paid to the local tax authority. The amounts withheld may be recoverable through an offset against future corporate income tax liabilities in the relevant operating company. Withholding tax receivables are reviewed for recoverability at each reporting period end and impaired if not forecast to be recoverable. (c) Represents non-cash charges related to the impairment of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets excluding goodwill and related prepaid land rent on the decommissioning of sites. (d) Represents expenses related to share-based compensation, which vary from period to period depending on timing of awards and changes to valuation input assumptions. (e) Represents insurance claims included as non-operating income. (f) Other costs for the three months ended March 31, 2025, included one-off expenses related to strategic initiatives and operating systems of $1.5 million (three months ended March 31, 2024: $1.9 million), costs related to internal reorganization of $0.5 million (three months ended March 31, 2024: $0.5 million) and one-off professional fees related to financing of $0.3 million (three months ended March 31, 2024: $nil). ALFCF We define ALFCF as cash from operations, before certain items of income or expenditure that management believes are not indicative of the core cash flow of our business (to the extent that these items of income and expenditure are included within cash flow from operating activities), and after taking into account net working capital movements, income taxes paid, withholding tax, lease and rent payments made, net interest paid or received, business combination transaction costs, maintenance capital expenditure and routine corporate capital expenditure. We believe that it is important to measure the free cash flows we have generated from operations, after accounting for the cash cost of funding and routine capital expenditure required to generate those cash flows. We believe ALFCF is useful to investors because it is also used by our management for measuring our operating cash flow, liquidity and allocating resources. While Adjusted EBITDA provides management with a basis for assessing our current operating performance, we use ALFCF in order to assess the long-term, sustainable operating liquidity of our business. ALFCF is derived through an understanding of the funds generated from operations, taking into account our capital structure and the taxation environment (including withholding tax implications), as well as the impact of non-discretionary maintenance capital expenditure and routine corporate capital expenditure. ALFCF provides management with a metric through which to measure the underlying cash generation of the business by further adjusting for expenditure that are non-discretionary in nature (such as interest paid and income taxes paid), as well as certain cash items that impact cash from operations in any particular period. ALFCF and similar measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in their evaluation of companies comparable to us, many of which present an ALFCF-related measure when reporting their results. Such measures are used in the telecommunications infrastructure sector as they are seen to be important in assessing the liquidity of a business. We present ALFCF to provide investors with a meaningful measure for comparing our liquidity to those of other companies, particularly those in our industry. ALFCF and similar measures are used by different companies for differing purposes and are often calculated in ways that reflect the circumstances of those companies. You should exercise caution in comparing ALFCF as reported by us to ALFCF or similar measures as reported by other companies. ALFCF is unaudited and has not been prepared in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. ALFCF is not intended to replace cash from operations for the period or any other measures of cash flow under IFRS Accounting Standards. ALFCF has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation. Some of these limitations are: not all cash changes are reflected, for example, changes in working capital are not included and discretionary capital expenditure are not included; some of the items that we eliminate in calculating ALFCF reflect cash payments that have less bearing on our liquidity, but that impact our operating results for the applicable period; the fact that certain cash charges, such as lease payments made, can include payments for multiple future years that are not reflective of operating results for the applicable period, which may result in lower lease payments for subsequent periods; the fact that other companies in our industry may have different capital structures and applicable tax regimes, which limits its usefulness as a comparative measure; and the fact that other companies in our industry may calculate ALFCF differently than we do, which limits their usefulness as comparative measures. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on ALFCF. The following is a reconciliation of ALFCF to the most directly comparable IFRS measure, which is cash from operations, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, and 2024: (a) Withholding tax primarily represents amounts withheld by customers which may be recoverable through an offset against future corporate income tax liabilities in the relevant operating company. (b) Represents the aggregate value of interest paid and interest income received. (c) Other costs for the three months ended March 31, 2025, primarily related to one-off consulting fees. (d) We incur capital expenditure in relation to the maintenance of our towers and fiber equipment, which is non-discretionary in nature and required for us to optimally run our portfolio and to perform in line with our service level agreements with customers. Maintenance capital expenditure includes the periodic repair, refurbishment and replacement of tower, fiber equipment and power equipment at existing sites to keep such assets in service. (e) Corporate capital expenditure, which is non-discretionary in nature, consists primarily of routine spending on information technology infrastructure. Consolidated net leverage ratio We define consolidated net leverage ratio as the ratio of consolidated net leverage (being the aggregate outstanding indebtedness of IHS Holding Limited and its restricted subsidiaries on a consolidated basis) to consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the most recently ended four fiscal quarters ('LTM Adjusted EBITDA'), as further adjusted to reflect the provisions of the indentures governing the Senior Notes (1). We use LTM Adjusted EBITDA to maintain as much consistency as possible with the calculations established by our debt covenants included in the indentures relating to our Senior Notes. We believe consolidated net leverage ratio is useful to investors and is used by our management for managing capital resources. Consolidated net leverage ratio is not a measure of performance under IFRS Accounting Standards and accordingly, investors and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on this measure. The following is a reconciliation of the consolidated net leverage ratio as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, including a reconciliation of consolidated net leverage to the most directly comparable IFRS measure, which is borrowings: Rounding Certain numbers, sums, and percentages in this press release may be impacted by rounding. Percentages have been calculated from the underlying whole-dollar amounts for all periods presented. In addition, from 1Q25 the Group has changed its rounding presentation from thousands to millions, except as otherwise indicated including in the case of per share data, and, as a result, any necessary rounding adjustments have been made to prior period disclosed amounts. This change is not material and does not impact the comparability of our financial information.
Business Wire
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
IHS Towers Agrees to Sell Rwanda Operations to Paradigm Tower Ventures
LONDON & KIGALI, Rwanda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IHS Holding Limited (NYSE: IHS) ('IHS Towers'), one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, has agreed to sell 100% of IHS Rwanda Limited ('IHS Rwanda') including its approximately 1,465 sites 1 to Paradigm Tower Ventures. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including government and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second half of 2025. The terms of the transaction reflect an enterprise value 2 of $274.5 million, implying a transaction multiple of 8.3x adjusted EBITDA after leases 3. This represents a significant premium compared to the current valuation multiple of the IHS Towers group. Sam Darwish, Chairman & CEO, IHS Towers, commented, 'The agreement to sell our Rwanda operations to Paradigm Tower Ventures was carefully considered as part of our strategic initiatives targeted at shareholder value-creation options and highlights the value of our Rwanda operations within our wider portfolio. We have enjoyed more than 10 years of commercial success in Rwanda. We are deeply appreciative to our colleagues and customers, in addition to the Government of Rwanda for its exemplary and investor supportive framework, who have all helped make IHS Rwanda the success it is today.' Stephen Harris, Co-founder, Paradigm Tower Ventures, said, 'Rwanda represents an exciting market with high demand for shared wireless infrastructure. The Paradigm team is very much looking forward to building a strong customer focused business providing high quality and secure infrastructure to mobile network operators.' About IHS Towers: IHS Towers is one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count and is solely focused on the emerging markets. The Company has over 39,000 towers across its eight markets, including Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia. For more information, please email: communications@ or visit: About Paradigm Tower Ventures: Stephen Harris, Hal Hess and Steven Marshall, well respected and experienced former executives of global and African tower businesses, founded Paradigm Infrastructure in 2019. They have substantial experience in the acquisition and operations of tower businesses in multiple African markets. This transaction marks the first investment by Paradigm Tower Ventures, a new tower platform which is focused on the growth of new build shared wireless infrastructure in Sub–Saharan Africa. Paradigm Tower Ventures is backed for this transaction by a consortium of equity and debt finance providers. Cautionary Language Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by relevant safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements (or their equivalent) of any applicable jurisdiction, including those contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this document may be forward-looking statements, including regarding the enterprise value of the transaction, the total base consideration to be received pursuant to the transaction, the potential impact of the sale of IHS Rwanda under the Company's strategic review process, and the timing of any of the foregoing. 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You should read this press release and the documents that we reference in this press release with the understanding that our actual future results, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. Further information on such assumptions, risks and uncertainties is available in our filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by applicable law, we do not assume, and expressly disclaim, any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. 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Certain definitions We define Adjusted EBITDA for the Group as income/(loss) for the period, before income tax expense/(benefit), finance costs and income, depreciation and amortization, net impairment/(reversal of impairment) of withholding tax receivables, impairment of goodwill, business combination transaction costs, net impairment/(reversal of impairment) of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets excluding goodwill and related prepaid land rent, reversal of provision for decommissioning costs, net (gain)/loss on sale of assets, share-based payment (credit)/expense, insurance claims, gain on disposal of subsidiary and certain other items that management believes are not indicative of the core performance of our business. See our unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information, definitions and a reconciliation to the most comparable IFRS measures. 1 As of March 31, 2025. 2 Enterprise value is defined as anticipated consideration to be received on a borrowings and cash free basis. Refer to note 20 in our unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2025 (filed on form 6-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2025) for further information. 3 Consists of contribution for Rwanda to Adjusted EBITDA for IHS Holding Limited and its subsidiaries (the 'Group') of $37.6 million for the last 12 months to March 31, 2025, and reduced by $4.4 million for incremental lease costs in Rwanda. Adjusted EBITDA for the Group is defined in our unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2025 (filed on form 6-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2025).
