Helios Towers H1 earnings untouched by Covid-19

Telecommunications infrastructure company Helios Towers reported improved first-half earnings on Thursday and stated it was yet to experience any "significant operational impact" from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Africa-focused group posted adjusted underlying earnings of $109.1m for the six months ended 30 June, a 10% increase year-on-year, while revenues grew 7% to $204.0m.

Helios credited the revenue improvement to an expanded number of sites and tenancies, up 3% and 6% during the period, respectively, while it said the higher earnings stemmed from both tenancy growth and "continued improvements" in operational efficiency.

Looking forward, Helios anticipates that its first-half results will be "broadly in line with expectations", leading it to keep its 2020 full-year guidance unchanged.

Chief executive Kash Pandya said: "The first half of 2020 saw our business deliver in line with expectations, in the face of seismic disruptions to the wider global commercial backdrop due to the Covid‐19 impact. We have delivered strong top‐line growth and adjusted EBITDA performance which is testament to the resilience as well as the power and leverage of our operating model, and to the approach of our teams in central functions and in the field.

"We anticipate that these attributes will continue to serve the business well going forward, not least in the near‐term as the challenges of the pandemic currently remain evident."

Separately, Helios named Carole Wamuyu Wainaina as a non-executive director of the group, effective immediately.

Prior to her current role as chief operating officer of investment platform the Africa50 Infrastructure Fund, Wainaina worked as an assistant secretary-general in the department of management at the United Nations.

As of 0840 BST, Helios shares were up 0.28% at 178.29p.