Helios Towers sticks to guidance as profit rises

Operating profit for the three months to the end of March rose to $12.1m (£9.9m) from $7m a year earlier as revenue rose 9% to $101.8m. The company's pretax loss widened to $57.5m from $8.7m in Helios Towers' first full quarter as a listed company.

The FTSE 250 company said Covid-19 had no significant impact on its business to date. Mobile infrastructure operators are classified as essential services in African markets and the company is operating at normal levels, it said.

Helios operates almost 7,000 phone masts in Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Tanzania and other countries to tap into growing use of mobile technology in Africa. It listed on the London Stock Exchange in October 2019.

Kash Pandya, chief executive, said: "The first quarter of 2020 saw our business deliver in line with expectations, with strong top-line growth … Based on our current assessment of Covid-19 impact, guidance for 2020 remains unchanged."

The company said the results showed the benefits of its long-term contracts with "blue-chip" business customers. Its shares rose 3.1% to 133p at 09:26 BST.