Helios Towers lifts FY guidance, shares spark

(Sharecast News) - Mobile tower company Helios Towers rallied on Thursday as it lifted its guidance for the year, citing robust customer demand, and posted a jump in first-half profit. In the six months to the end of June, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew 14% to $257m, with revenue up 11% on the same period a year earlier to $466.3m as tenancies ticked up 13% to 34,455. Operating profit increased 22% to $162.9m.

For FY2026, Helios now expects 3,500-4,000 tenancy additions, up from previous guidance for 3,000 to 3,500. Adjusted EBITDA is now seen at between $520m and $535m, versus previous guidance of $515m to $530m, and recurring free cash flow guidance was lifted to between $220m and $235m, from between $215m and $230m.

Chief executive Tom Greenwood said: "I am delighted with our first-half performance, which reflects a strong start to our IMPACT 2030 strategy. We have delivered record tenancy growth, driving financial performance ahead of expectations, while maintaining our disciplined approach to capital allocation.

"Alongside investing in highly accretive organic opportunities, we have continued to execute our share buyback programme and are pleased to announce our inaugural dividend, marking another important milestone in our commitment to delivering sustainable shareholder returns.

"Looking ahead, we are well positioned to deliver another record year. Our tenancy pipeline remains strong, providing excellent visibility into the second half and underpinning our confidence to further upgrade our FY 2026 financial and operational guidance. We remain on track to achieve record organic tenancy growth, deliver over $75 million to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends, while continuing to reduce leverage, reinforcing the strength of our business model."

At 1105 BST, the shares were up 5.5% at 213.40p.

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