Cellnex closes the first nine months with over 45% growth in revenue, EBITDA and recurring cash flow

Results January-September 2022

Commitment to securing Investment Grade rating (BBB-) from S&P Global Ratings in addition to maintaining it from Fitch.

Announced the completion of the acquisition of CK Hutchison’s telecommunications tower assets in the UK.

• Key financial indicators[1] continue to reflect the effect of the expanded geographic footprint – after integrating the sites acquired in 2021 – and the strength of the Group’s organic business:
  • Revenue[2]reached €2.572 billion (vs €1.76 billion 9M 2021); adjusted EBITDA was €1.937 billion (vs €1.334 billion 9M 2021); and free and recurring cash flow of between €1.315-€1.345 billion.
  • Strong organic growth: +5.7% in points of presence (+19% in terms of increased geographic footprint).
  • Backlog (agreed future sales), including the CK Hutchinson transaction in the UK, amounts to €110 billion.
  • Outlook confirmed for the financial year 2022 with revenue of between €3.405 and €3.455 billion, EBITDA of between €2.610 and €2.660 billion and free and recurring cash flow of between €1.315-€1.345 billion.[3]
• Agreement reached with Digi, the mobile operator, to roll out 2,000 points of presence (PoPs) at Cellnex sites in Portugal by the end of 2023.
• Net financial debt[4]– following the closing of the deal with CK Hutchison in the UK – is €17.1 billion. 77% of the debt is referenced to a fixed rate.
• Following the completion of the CK Hutchison deal in the UK, Cellnex has liquidity (cash and undrawn debt) of €4.3 billion.
• The Board has approved a dividend payment of € 0.03518 per share, charged to the share premium reserve, which will be effective on 24 November.
• The GRESB Infrastructure Public Disclosure sustainability index certifies Cellnex as the leading company in its sector – ranked first of the 25 companies in the ranking – for ESG transparency.

Barcelona, 11 November 2022.– Cellnex Telecom has presented its results for the first nine months of 2022. Revenue amounted to €2.572 billion (+46%) and adjusted EBITDA grew to €1.937 billion (+45%) reflecting, together with organic growth, the effect of consolidating the assets the Group acquired in 2021. Free and recurring leveraged cash flow was €967 million (+46%).

The net accounting result was negative at -€255 million, reflecting higher amortisations (up 52% on 9M 2021) and financial costs (up 28% on 9M 2021) associated with the consolidation of the Group’s acquisitions and integrations, and the consequent expansion of its geographic footprint.

Tobias Martinez, CEO of Cellnex, said “We had a strong third quarter driven by organic growth. Thanks to our track record of successfully integrating acquisitions over the months and years, we continue to deliver double-digit increases in revenue, EBITDA and recurring cashflow. This gives us confidence in our targets for the year. Let me underline as well that while keeping our 2025 guidance, we are reinforcing our focus on our balance sheet, and as an expression of this we are committed to securing Investment Grade status (BBB- rating) from S&P. ”

“In the medium term,” adds the Cellnex CEO, “we see further momentum coming from our plans to build more than 21,000 new sites by 2030 for our existing customers, as well as significant potential in key growth areas. We expect sustained demand in Fibre-to-the-Tower, DAS, transport connectivity projects, edge data centres, as well as RAN sharing projects as highlighted by our agreement with Polkomtel in Poland.” 

Lines of business. Key indicators for the period

• Infrastructure services for mobile telecommunications operators contributed 90.5% of revenue (€2.328 billion), up 53% on 2021.
• The broadcasting infrastructure business contributed 6.5% of revenue (€167 million).
• The business focused on security and emergency networks and solutions for smart management of urban infrastructures (IoT and Smart Cities), contributed 3% of revenue (€77 million).
• As at 30 September, Cellnex had a total of 104,808 operational sites (not including the 21,000 sites planned for roll-out up to 2030 and operations pending completion): 4,516 in Austria, 1,502 in Denmark, 10,420 in Spain, 24,015 in France, 1,890 in Ireland, 20,921 in Italy, 4,075 in the Netherlands, 15,199 in Poland, 6,086 in Portugal, 7,996 in the United Kingdom, 2,791 in Sweden and 5,397 in Switzerland; In addition, there are 6,969 DAS nodes and Small Cells.
• Organic growth in points of presence at the sites was up 5.7% on the same period in 2021, including the effect of the roll-out of new sites during the period.

Financial structure

Cellnex has a debt structure that is flexible, owing to the use of various instruments.

• The Group’s net debt – following the closing of the deal with CK Hutchison in the UK – is €17.1 billion. 77% of the debt is referenced to a fixed rate.
• After Hutchison’s deal in the UK, Cellnex has access to immediate liquidity (cash and undrawn debt) of approximately €4.3 billion.
• Cellnex Telecom issues maintain Fitch’s investment-grade rating (BBB-) with a stable outlook, confirmed in January. Meanwhile, S&P confirmed its BB+ rating with a stable outlook in March.

About Cellnex Telecom

The efficient deployment of next-generation connectivity is essential to drive technological innovation and accelerate inclusive economic growth. Cellnex Telecom is the independent wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure operator that enables operators to access Europe’s most extensive network of advanced telecommunications infrastructure on a shared-use basis, helping to reduce access barriers for new operators and to improve services in the most remote areas.

Cellnex manages a portfolio of more than 138,000 sites – including forecast roll-outs up to 2030 – in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. Cellnex’s business is structured into four major areas: telecommunications infrastructure 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 included in the selective IBEX 35 and EuroStoxx 100 indexes. It is also included in the main sustainability indexes, such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Sustainalytics, FTSE4Good and MSCI. Cellnex’s reference shareholders include Edizione, GIC, TCI, Blackrock, CPP Investments, CriteriaCaixa and Norges Bank.

—————-

[1] Excel support document available at www.cellnex.com

[2] Operating income less advances to customers. Following the same methodology as for the 6-month period ended 30 June 2022

[3] Includes the effect of the completion, later than initially planned, of the transaction with CK Hutchison in the United Kingdom.

[4] Excluding lease liabilities.