Helios Towers launches new five-year strategy - IMPACT 2030
Targeting >9% Adj. EBITDA CAGR and >$1.3bn cumulative recurring free cash flow generation (2026-30)
Aiming to return >$400m to investors through share buyback and dividend program up to 2030
Initial share buyback authorisation of up to $75m starts today
London, 6 November 2025: Helios Towers plc ("Helios Towers", "the Group" or "the Company"), the independent mobile tower company, is today hosting its Capital Markets Day.
The event will be hosted by Sir Samuel Jonah KBE, OSG, Chair, Tom Greenwood, Chief Executive Officer, and Manjit Dhillon, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Chair of HT Oman, and will include presentations from, and the opportunity to engage with, members of Helios Towers' Board, Executive Committee and the wider business.
Following the successful completion of two strategic cycles since IPO, of platform expansion (2019-22) and platform integration and driving free cash flow (2022-25) respectively, the Group's IMPACT 2030 strategy targets the combination of continued accretive growth and the introduction of shareholder distributions.
The Group expects to generate >US$1.3 billion cumulative recurring free cash flow1 (2026-30) and has updated its capital allocation framework, which will maximise value for stakeholders through:
Accretive growth: Anticipating >$500m discretionary capex investment between 2026 and 2030, delivering a >9% Adj. EBITDA CAGR and expanding ROIC to 15-20%
· Reflects our ambition to grow total tenancies to >42,000, expand our tenancy ratio to >2.5x by 2030 and continue to deliver market-leading operational performance
· Underpinned by our world-class platform with significant lease-up capacity, structural market growth and focus on customer experience excellence
Attractive shareholder returns: Targeting >$400m of cumulative shareholder distributions
· >$250m share buyback program through to 2030, with an initial $75m buyback to commence today and intended to complete by the end of 2026
· >$150m dividend distributions through to 2030, with an initial $25m full-year dividend for fiscal 2026, growing at a sector-leading >10% per annum, and anticipated to have a typical interim (1/3) and final (2/3) split
Maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet
· Based upon the medium-term targets outlined above, the Group expects to continue reducing net leverage. This balance sheet strength will allow the Company to assess opportunities to maximise returns and value for its shareholders on an ongoing basis
1. Recurring free cash flow is presented in our management cash flow statement and reflects net cash flow before discretionary investments, exceptional items and investors distributions
Tom Greenwood, Chief Executive Officer, said:
"Since our formation, Helios Towers has strived to be world class in everything we do. We have consistently delivered operational excellence to our customers, we are a standard-bearer for operating mobile infrastructure in Africa and the Middle East, and we have delivered 10 years of uninterrupted growth and outperformance. I am proud to say that we have a world-class tower platform delivering day after day for our blue-chip mobile network operator customers in markets which are benefiting from decades-long megatrends in connectivity growth.
2025 has been a milestone year for the business, delivering ahead of plan on our previous "2.2x by 2026" strategy and demonstrating the strong cash-compounding dynamics of our business. And it is against this backdrop that we're now launching "IMPACT 2030" - the next stage in our journey. IMPACT 2030 builds on the sustained momentum in the business, with sector-leading, cash-compounding growth and ROIC expansion through our disciplined capital allocation framework, now combining with attractive shareholder distributions. We have entered the beginning of the sweet spot of our development, where we combine both growth and value to our investors for decades ahead.
We look forward to sharing more details of our new strategy, and setting out our plan for capitalising on the exciting growth opportunities ahead for Helios Towers."
Capital Markets Day details
The live presentation will commence at 14:00 (GMT). Analysts and investors who are unable to attend in-person can access the webcast through the link below:
Registration Link: Helios Towers - Capital Markets Day 2025
Investor Relations
Chris Baker-Sams - Head of Strategic Finance and Investor Relations
+44 (0)782 511 2288
Media relations
Headland
Andy Rivett-Carnac: +44 (0)796 899 7365
Stephanie Ellis: +44 (0)731 136 9804
Joe Hughes: +44 (0)731 137 0016
About Helios Towers
· Helios Towers is a leading independent telecom tower company connecting people and powering growth across Africa and the Middle East. We deliver world-class operations at nearly 15,000 mobile tower sites across nine countries in Africa and the Middle East - the fastest growing region globally for mobile services - providing mission critical infrastructure and power services to leading mobile network operators (MNOs).
· Our pioneering approach enables colocation - the sharing of telecom tower sites - by hosting multiple MNOs on individual sites, creating benefits in the performance quality, the environmental impact, and the cost of rolling out and running mobile networks in our markets.
· Helios Towers' business excellence methodology focuses on delivering world class performance for its customers - centred around the development and upskilling of its people. We foster a culture of learning and continuous improvement to deliver global standards in processes and innovation, which makes us the partner of choice for all the region's leading MNOs.
· As one of the largest and fastest-growing FTSE-listed companies focused on operating in Africa and the Middle East, Helios Towers' disciplined approach to capital allocation, long-term partnerships with leading MNOs and its operational capabilities deliver resilient performance that is reshaping digital connectivity in the region and catalysing investment that is essential to unlocking its human and economic potential.
Alternative Performance Measures
The Group has presented a number of Alternative Performance Measures ("APMs"), which are used in addition to IFRS statutory performance measures. The Group believes that these APMs, which are not considered to be a substitute for or superior to IFRS measures, provide stakeholders with additional helpful information on the performance of the business. These APMs are consistent with how the business performance is planned and reported within the internal management reporting to the Board. Profit/(loss) before tax, gross profit, non-current and current loans and long-term and short-term lease liabilities are the equivalent statutory measures (see 'Certain defined terms and conventions'). For more information on the Group's Alternative Performance Measures, see the Group's Annual report for the year ended 31 December 2024, published on the Group's website. Reconciliations of APMs to the equivalent statutory measure are also included in this half-year financial report.