Helios Towers plc

H1 revenue increased 11% year-on-year to GBP 237 million. EBITDA increased 14% year-on-year, and recurring free cash flow increased 52%. The company added 2,511 tenancies in the first half and more than 2,500 new tenancy additions overall in H1, with 524 new sites added in the half. Tenancy ratio rose to 2.3 tenants per site, while net leverage fell 0.4x year-on-year to 3.4x. Hard currency exposure was cited at 69% of revenue and 71% of adjusted EBITDA. FY26 guidance was raised to 3,500 to 4,000 new tenancy additions, adjusted EBITDA of $520 million to $535 million, recurring free cash flow of $220 million to $235 million, and discretionary capex of $215 million to $245 million. Planned shareholder distributions remain $76 million, and the inaugural interim dividend is 0.6 pence per share, or $8 million. Management also cited $5.9 billion of contracted future revenues with an average remaining initial contract life of 6.5 years.

Tom Greenwood framed the quarter as evidence that Helios’ four-part investment thesis is working: structural market growth, operating excellence, robust long-term contracts, and disciplined capital allocation. He emphasized that demand is accelerating across the portfolio, with 2027 already building in the pipeline, and said the company is continuing to convert mobile-data growth into tenancy additions and cash generation. His tone was confident and strategic, especially in the long-duration section of the call, where he argued the opportunity extends well beyond Impact 2030 and that satellite should be seen as complementary to terrestrial towers.

Manjit Dhillon focused on the conversion of tenancy growth into financial results and the company’s ability to keep upgrading guidance. He pointed to H1 revenue of GBP 237 million, 69% of revenue and 71% of EBITDA in hard currency, and a lower 6.7% blended cost of debt with average maturity of about 4 years. He also highlighted H1 capex of GBP 115 million, including GBP 102 million of discretionary capex, more than $500 million of available liquidity, and the unchanged GBP 76 million planned shareholder distributions for the year. He said the incremental 500 tenancies add about $5 million of in-year EBITDA and over $10 million of annualized EBITDA, and reiterated that the capital allocation framework still prioritizes high-return organic growth, balance-sheet strength, and shareholder returns.

Analysts pressed management on whether satellite and laser technologies could eventually improve tower economics or increase competition, and Marcus/Tom answered that the real constraint is the last-mile link to the phone, not backhaul. They said lasers can help with backhaul in some cases, but cannot replace terrestrial RF for small phones, and that satellites remain complementary because they are best for remote coverage or backhaul where fiber or microwave is impractical. Questions also focused on the cadence of the rest of FY26 and why guidance implies a stronger second half; management said site rollout is lumpy, a large share of the guided new sites will land in H2, and 2027 is already receiving attention. A further question asked whether extra cash should mean more shareholder returns, and management said the model still leaves roughly the same amount of cash available, with more detail to come later.