Cellnex records growth of +11% in revenue and +11% in EBITDA in Q1 2019

Results January-March 2019

After successfully closing the capital increase of EUR 1.2bn in March 2019, Cellnex today announced the agreement to acquire 10,700 sites in France, Italy and Switzerland and deploy 4,000 additional sites up to 2027. The joint investment exceeds EUR 4bn (2.7bn for the acquisition and 1.35bn for the new deployments)

• Key indicators reflect the combined effect of a larger geographical presence and strong organic growth:
• Points of presence (PoPs) grew 11% with the new acquisitions (+5% like-for-like). The customer ratio per site increased 4% like-for-like.
• The roll-out of new DAS (distributed antenna systems) nodes grew c.20% in relation to the first quarter of 2018.
• Revenue stood at € 241 million; EBITDA at € 159 million; and recurring free cash flow € 85 million.
• The backlog of contracted future sales, including new transactions, stood at € 36 billion.
• Net debt as of 31 March amounted to € 113 billion. 81% is at a fixed rate, the average cost of debt (drawn down) is 2.2% and the average life is 5.3 years. Available liquidity (cash and banks + credit lines) was € 2.8 billion.

Barcelona, 7 May 2019.- Cellnex Telecom has presented its results for the first quarter of 2019. Revenue amounted to € 241 million (+11%) and EBITDA was € 159 million (+11%). The net result closed neutral at € 0 million compared to losses of 37 million in the first quarter of 2018.

In the first quarter of 2019, the company completed a capital increase of € 1.2 billion to finance the expansion of its European telecommunications infrastructure portfolio. Investor demand was over 16 times the supply of new shares (66.9 million shares). 98.8% of the holders of pre-emptive rights took part in the increase. The new shares began trading on 27 March.

Tobias Martinez, Cellnex CEO has underlined “the transformational dimension of this first months of the year. The positive reception by our shareholders of the € 1.2 billion capital increase in March has been materialized in our proven execution capacity of new growth projects expanding our presence in key markets. After the agreement announced today with Iliad in France and in Italy, as well as Salt in Switzerland, we will see our current portfolio of 29,000 sites growing by more than 50% until 45,000 sites.”

Key indicators for Q1

In the first quarter of 2019, infrastructure services for mobile telecommunications operators contributed 66% to total income, or € 160 million, an increase of 15% compared to March 2018 with broadcasting infrastructure accounting for 24% of income, at € 59 million.

Our strategic focus on security and emergency service networks and solutions for smart urban infrastructure management (IoT and Smart cities) contributed to 9% of revenue, totalling € 22 million.

As of 31 March, 49% of income and 58% of EBITDA were generated outside the Spanish market. Italy is the second largest market, providing 27% of the group’s income.

As of 31 March 2019, Cellnex had a total of 23,782 operating sites (8,664 in Spain, 8.319 in Italy 2,918 in France, 803 in the Netherlands, 608 in United Kingdom and 2.470 in Switzerland), with a further 1,643  nodes (DAS and Small Cells). Overall, the number of DAS and Small Cells sites grew by c.20% in comparison to the first quarter of 2018.

Year-on-year organic growth of points of presence at sites was 5%, while the customer ratio per site (excluding changes to the perimeter) was up by 4%.

Total investments executed during the period stood at € 129 million, linked mostly to generating new income, particularly incorporating new assets in Switzerland and continuing to integrate and roll out new sites in France as part of the agreements with Bouygues Telecom, as well as improvements in efficiency, and maintaining installed capacity.

Integration and roll-out of new assets in Europe

In the first months of 2019, Cellnex has concluded several growth agreements which, once signed, will lead  to an increase of more than 15,000 in its portfolio of assets in the European markets where the company operates.

Today, Cellnex has announced a Europe-wide agreement with Iliad – in France and Italy – and with Salt, the third MNO in Switzerland, that will increase its current portfolio by 10,700 sites (5,700 in France, 2,200 in Italy and 2,800 in Switzerland) with a total investment of € 2.7 billion. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of the year, also includes an agreement to deploy up to 4,000 new sites by 2027 (2,500 in France and 1,000 in Italy (for Iliad) and 500 in Switzerland (for Salt)) with a planned phased investment of € 1.35 billion.

Overall investment in these projects, to be rolled out up to 2027, surpasses € 4 billion. This contribute an extra € 510 million to overall EBITDA once all the roll-out is completed.

On the other side, In Italy, Cellnex reached an agreement with Wind Tre to extend the current 400 sites included in the 2015 Built-to-Suit programme agreement. Cellnex Italy will build 800 additional new sites for the Italian MNO by 2025.

Debt structure

Cellnex closed the first quarter of 2019 with a stable long-term debt structure, with an average life of 5.3 years, an average cost of approximately 2.2% (debt drawn down) and 81%  at a fixed rate. 

On 8 January, Cellnex placed € 200 million in convertible bonds due in 2026, fungible with the convertible bonds amounting to € 600 million issued in January 2018.

The Group’s net debt as of 31 March was € 2.113 billion compared to € 3.166 billion at the close of 2018. 

Likewise, at the close of the period, Cellnex had access to immediate liquidity (cash & banks and debt not drawn down) to the tune of approximately € 2.800 billion.

Cellnex Telecom’s bond issues maintain their “investment grade” rating from Fitch (BBB- with a negative outlook) as confirmed in October 2018. S&P maintains the BB rating with stable outlook as confirmed in June 2018.

About Cellnex Telecom

Cellnex Telecom is Europe’s leading operator of wireless telecommunications infrastructures with a portfolio of 45,000 sites, including forecast roll-outs up to 2027. Cellnex operates in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Cellnex’s business is structured in four major areas: telecommunication infrastructures services; audiovisual broadcasting networks; security and emergency service networks and solutions for smart urban infrastructure and services management (Smart cities and the Internet of Things (IoT)).

The company is listed on the continuous market of the Spanish stock exchange and is part of the selective IBEX 35 and EuroStoxx 600 indices. It is also part of the FTSE4GOOD and CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) and “Standard Ethics” sustainability indexes.

Cellnex’s reference shareholders include ConnecT, with a 29.9% stake in the share capital, as well as CriteriaCaixa, Blackrock, Canada Pension Plan and Wellington holding smaller stakes.