IHS Towers Cuts Capex, Refocuses on Core Markets After Asset Sales

AFRICAN STOCKS AND FINANCEAugust 15, 2025 at 12:42 PM UTC

TLDR

IHS Towers reduced first-half 2025 capital expenditure by 15.8% to $89.9 million, signalling a pivot from rapid expansion to a more cash-flow-focused strategy
Spending fell in both quarters, with Q1 down 17.8% to $43.6 million and Q2 down 13.8% to $46.3 million
Nigeria’s tenant churn—mainly from MTN awarding 1,050 sites to American Tower—has been offset by retained business and steady colocation rates

IHS Towers reduced first-half 2025 capital expenditure by 15.8% to $89.9 million, signalling a pivot from rapid expansion to a more cash-flow-focused strategy. Spending fell in both quarters, with Q1 down 17.8% to $43.6 million and Q2 down 13.8% to $46.3 million.

The company scaled back investment in Latin America and slowed activity in Nigeria—its largest market—following strategic asset disposals, including 1,672 towers in Kuwait last year and a planned sale of 1,465 towers in Rwanda. Proceeds are being used to pay down debt, lowering net leverage from 3.7x to 3.4x in Q1.

Full-year 2025 capex guidance was cut to $240–$270 million. Efficiency programmes, such as Nigeria’s “Project Green,” have reduced upgrade needs.

Nigeria’s tenant churn—mainly from MTN awarding 1,050 sites to American Tower—has been offset by retained business and steady colocation rates. H1 revenue was $872.9 million, with Q1 and Q2 net income of $30.7 million and $32.3 million, respectively, reversing last year’s losses.

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Points clés à retenir

IHS’s shift reflects a strategic consolidation—exiting smaller, lower-yield markets to focus on high-tenancy regions like Nigeria, South Africa, and Brazil. The move aligns with broader trends in tower infrastructure, where operators under pressure from currency volatility, rising energy costs, and competitive bidding are prioritising capital discipline over pure network growth. Tenant churn in Nigeria underscores the risk of customer concentration, but long-term contracts with MTN and others—linked to inflation and diesel prices—provide some revenue stability. The company’s healthy colocation ratio of 1.52x in Nigeria matches emerging market averages, suggesting strong infrastructure utilisation. By pairing portfolio streamlining with debt reduction and operational optimisation, IHS aims to strengthen margins and resilience. The second half of 2025 will test its ability to replace lost tenancies and maintain growth while keeping capital intensity low—a challenge that could define its competitive positioning against global tower operators like American Tower Corporation and Helios Towers.

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