Key Factors
- IHS posted $439.6 million in Q1 2025 income, up 5.24% year-on-year, powered by robust natural progress, lease escalations, and tenant additions.
- Internet earnings reached $30.7 million, reversing a $1.56 billion loss, whereas adjusted EBITDA surged 36.4% to $252.6 million, reflecting operational resilience.
- The group added 800 websites and 1,375 tenants year-on-year, excluding asset gross sales, and targets as much as $1.71B full-year income, aided by 5G rollout and Nigerian tax aid.
IHS Holding, one in every of Africa’s largest unbiased house owners, operators, and builders of shared telecommunications infrastructure, kicked off 2025 on a optimistic observe, rebounding from a double-digit revenue decline in 2024, pushed by the sharp devaluation of the Nigerian naira.
Led by U.S.-Nigerian govt Sam Darwish, the telecom infrastructure big reported modest income progress within the first quarter of 2025, fueled by sturdy natural enlargement and disciplined monetary administration. The efficiency underscored IHS’s resilience amid persistent foreign money headwinds and ongoing portfolio changes.
IHS rebounds sharply with earnings surge
In the first quarter of 2025, IHS Towers posted a 5.24 p.c year-on-year income rise to $439.6 million, fueled by 25.6 p.c natural progress from FX resets, energy indexation, escalations, and better income from tenants, lease amendments, and new websites. This progress offset headwinds from a 13.8 p.c Nigerian naira depreciation and the 2024 Kuwait exit.
The corporate returned to profitability, recording $30.7 million in web earnings—reversing a $1.56 billion loss a 12 months earlier. Adjusted EBITDA jumped 36.4 p.c to $252.6 million, lifting the margin to 57.5 p.c, pushed by tighter monetary controls and easing naira impression.
Darwish unlocks worth through strategic divestments
IHS ended the quarter with 39,212 towers and 59,606 tenants, attaining a 1.52x colocation charge. Lease amendments climbed to 39,705, pushed by 5G and fiber upgrades. Excluding asset gross sales in Kuwait and Peru, IHS added 800 websites and 1,375 web tenants year-on-year.
Chairman and CEO Sam Darwish expressed confidence in IHS’s momentum heading into 2025, citing regular positive factors in profitability and money movement. “Our efficiency displays disciplined capital allocation and value-driven asset gross sales,” he stated. “The $274.5 million Rwanda divestment exemplifies our concentrate on unlocking portfolio worth, slicing leverage, and fueling progress—particularly as 5G rollout and Nigerian stability enhance our outlook.”
Darwish initiatives progress as 5G positive factors floor
Based by Sam Darwish in 2001, IHS Towers has grown into the world’s third-largest unbiased telecom tower agency. With Darwish holding a 4.17 p.c stake, the corporate stays a central participant in Africa’s digital infrastructure enlargement. As of March 31, 2025, whole property rose 3.25 p.c to $4.42 billion, up from $4.28 billion at year-end 2024. Collected losses edged down 0.48 p.c to $6.89 billion, reflecting improved capital effectivity.
Buoyed by a robust first quarter, IHS forecasts full-year income of $1.68–$1.71 billion, with 12 p.c natural progress. It plans to roll out 500 new build-to-suit websites—400 in Brazil—supported by $260–$290 million in capex. With a leaner portfolio, lowered withholding tax in Nigeria, and a pointy concentrate on profitability and money movement, IHS is positioned to fortify its steadiness sheet and speed up progress throughout key rising markets.
