Cellnex Telecom does not stop and, despite the crisis, records a more than positive first half of 2020. The Spanish telecommunications company, chaired by the Italian manager Franco Bernabè, in fact closed the period marked by the explosion of the Covid emergency with revenues of 723 million euros (+48%) and Ebitda growing to 527 million (+64 %), after consolidated the acquisitions made in 2019 in France and Italy (Iliad), Switzerland (Salt), United Kingdom (BT), Ireland (Cignal) and Spain (Orange), as well as the acquisition of Omtel in Portugal concluded in January.
The net result for the half year was negative by 43 million euros, but only due to the substantial effect of higher amortization and depreciation (+95% compared to the first half of 2019) and financial costs (+23%), associated with the intense process of acquisitions and to the consequent expansion of the perimeter. The situation is therefore in line, writes Cellnex in a press release, with the strong growth phase of the company and therefore, as indicated during the presentation of the results for the 2019 financial year, "a negative accounting result must also be expected in the coming quarters".
On the other hand, however, this strong growth has continued even in these complicated months, above all outside Spain and in particular in Italy. In fact, as at 30 June, 63% of revenues and 72% of Ebitda were generated outside the Spanish market. Italy is the second most important market with 23% of group revenues. Cellnex currently has a total of 40.505 operational sites (10.313 in Spain, 10.356 in Italy, 9.411 in France, 922 in the Netherlands, 611 in the United Kingdom, 5.272 in Switzerland, 601 in Ireland and 3.019 in Portugal), to which must be added 2.090 nodes (DAS and Small Cells). With regard to DAS and Small Cells, it should be noted that the number of sites grew by around +20% compared to the first half of 2019.
The organic growth of points of presence in sites on a like-for-like basis stood at +5% compared to the same period of 2019, whereas the ratio of customers per site (excluding changes in the perimeter) grew +3%. Total investments made in the half year reached 652 million of Euro. Net debt increased to 4,669 billion euros compared to 3,938 billion at the end of 2019, but the completed transactions allowed Cellnex to revise upwards its forecasts of Ebitda (between 1.160 and 1.180 million against the previous range of 1.065-1.085 million) and recurring free cash flow at 70% compared to 2019, against the +50% previously estimated.
“The company – he commented Franco Bernabè, President of Cellnex – has operated continuously and with maximum availability the services provided in the eight countries in which it operates, in a difficult context, marked by the coronavirus crisis. We must evaluate very positively the degree of efficiency and normality with which the company has carried out its business during these first six months, a fact that is already exceptional in itself".
“The company – he added Tobias Martinez, CEO of Cellnex – in line with what was indicated in the first quarter, it continues to operate with a criterion of maximum responsibility and prudence towards customers who have been able to fully enjoy their services; to our suppliers, to whom we have offered solutions to expedite the collection of services and supplies; to our employees who have continued to work in full normality, guaranteeing the continuity of activities and daily work, as well as the realization of new growth operations in Portugal and France, and the closure, already in this month of July, of the purchase of the telecommunications division of Arqiva in the United Kingdom, a decisive operation for the consolidation of our European project”.
