Cellnex Telecom's revenues reach 453 million euros, an increase of 42%

Activity in the audiovisual broadcast networks sector contributed 38% of revenues with 173 million euros. The awarding of six new DTT channel licenses will mean a boost to its activity.

Cellnex Telecom has presented the results corresponding to the first 9 months of 2015. Of note is the increase in revenue by 42%, up to 453 million euros, and the growth of recurring EBITDA up to 176 million (+33%).

The net result (not comparable) reached 19 million euros, while the comparable net, excluding non-recurring impacts associated with the acquisition of Galata's assets in Italy, the IPO or the issuance of the corporate bond last July, closed at 35 million euros.

Comparability with the first half of 2014 is conditioned by the cessation of broadcasts of 9 TV channels in May 2014, and the consolidation since the 2nd quarter of 2015 of the 7,377 towers acquired from WIND in Italy.

Francisco Reynés, president of Cellnex Telecom, has stressed that "the accumulated data of this third quarter of Cellnex corroborate the fulfillment of expectations that we already glimpsed in the evolution of the first six months. Focus on the day to day, efficiency in execution and attention to the growth opportunities that may arise fundamentally in Europe, constitute the axes of a management that is reflected in the solidity of the magnitudes that we present today and their alignment with the objectives set for the year as a whole."

For his part, Tobías Martínez, CEO of Cellnex, has stressed how "the evolution of the company's business as a whole has responded to the forecasts. It is a particularly notable finding in a year marked by important challenges such as the integration of Galata's activity in Italy, the listing itself with the changes and transformations that it is entailing, or the pressure and demands on the management of costs and operations in a year with a smaller number of DTT channels in Spain, awaiting the recovery of the 1.75 multiplexes associated with 6 new channels. All of this has conditioned the Cellnex team's room for maneuver and it is in this context that the assessment of these first 9 months is clearly positive."

Business lines

By business lines, activity in the audiovisual broadcast networks sector contributed 38% of revenues with 173 million euros. Mobile telephony infrastructure, which already incorporated the towers acquired from WIND on March 26 in the 2nd quarter, contributed 47.7% of revenues with 216 million euros. While the business focused on security and emergency networks and solutions for the intelligent management of urban infrastructures (IoT and Smart cities) contributed 14% of revenues with 64 million euros.

At the end of the first half of 2015, Cellnex Telecom had a total of 15,127 locations (7,709 in Italy and 7,418 in Spain). The organic growth of points of presence on the existing tower base stood at +6% at the end of the third quarter compared to December 2014, while the occupancy ratio reached 1.51 (1.50 as of June 30). This is a reflection of commercial activity, with the closing of new service provision agreements with mobile telephone operators and telecommunications operators and audiovisual communication groups in both Italy and Spain.

Total investments for the period totaled 756 million euros: 737 million for expansion (693 for the Galata operation in Italy in March, and 44 for the acquisition of a package of 300 towers from Telefónica last January); 19 million were applied to the maintenance of installed capacity and to investments linked to the generation of new income, such as, for example, the rationalization of the telephone tower park that allows greater and better use of the installed capacity.

Debt structure

On July 20, 2015, Cellnex Telecom issued its inaugural bond with a 6-fold oversubscription. The issue consisted of a bond for an amount of 600 million euros, with a maturity of 7 years and a coupon of 3.125%.

After this issue, Cellnex presents a stable, long-term debt structure (6.6 years, compared to 3.9 years before the issue), with an average cost of 2.2%, and 54% referenced to a fixed rate. This refinancing process allows for longer maturities, the elimination of covenants and the diversification of financing sources.

The company's net debt at the end of the 9 months reached 980 million euros compared to 342 million at the end of 2014, and after financing the acquisition of WIND's tower portfolio for 693 million.