Vantage Towers today announced its financial year 2021 (FY21) update for the twelve months ended March 31, 2021 and provided updates on its tower portfolio, newly signed agreements, and guidance for FY22. Notably, in mid-March 2021, Vantage Towers successfully listed itself on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, under the symbol VTWR. In turn, the company’s public equity valuation currently implies a market capitalization of €13bn+.
Operational Metrics – Vantage Towers
Vantage Towers’ fully-owned segments include its operations in Germany, Spain, Greece, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Romania, Hungary, and Ireland. In addition to its fully-owned segments, Vantage Towers’ consolidated results include its 33% stake in INWIT (Italy), and 50% stake in Cornerstone (UK).
Vantage Towers’ portfolio increased to 45.7k macro sites (from 45.4k in FY20) within its 8 fully-owned European markets. Furthermore, the company’s portfolio expanded to 82.2k macro sites in its 10 consolidated European markets.
Over the past 12 months, Vantage Towers has built 600 new sites, ahead of its target of 550. Additionally, in FY21, Vantage Towers secured 1.8k new tenancies, of which, 1.3k were non-Vodafone tenancies and 500 were from Vodafone. As a result of this lease-up, the company ended FY21 with a tenancy ratio of 1.40x.
Signed Agreements
In the past 3 months, Vantage Towers secured two new framework extension agreements. Firstly, in Romania, the company signed a 5-year framework contract with STS (Special Telecommunication Services) for the addition of 170 tenancies. Secondly, in Hungary, Vantage Towers signed an inflation-linked framework extension contract with Antenna Hungaria.
Future Opportunities
Vantage Towers highlights the ongoing 5G spectrum auctions in Portugal and the Czech Republic as growth opportunities. Indeed, the company has low tenancy ratios in both Portugal (1.2x) and the Czech Republic (1.1x), providing it with capacity to capture additional tenancies. Specifically, Vantage Towers notes that new tenants could come from new entrants and existing wireless carriers, as a result of these 5G spectrum auctions.
Financial Results – FY21 (12 Months to March 31, 2021)
In FY21, Vantage Towers reported consolidated pro forma revenue of €966m and EBITDA after leases (EBITDAaL) of €524m (54% margin). Both revenue and EBITDAaL increased ~2%, as compared to FY20. Additionally, the company generated €384m of recurring free cash flow (RFCF) during FY21, an increase of 2.4% year-over-year.
Revenue growth was driven by the company’s build-to-suit (BTS) program in Germany, its active sharing agreement with Orange in Spain, and its contractual inflation escalator in its Master Service Agreements (MSAs) with Vodafone.
Dividend
Vantage Towers is targeting a dividend payout-ratio that amounts to 60% of consolidated recurring free cash flow (RFCF) and dividends received from INWIT and Cornerstone. Indeed, Vantage Towers will pay a dividend of €280m following its 2021 Annual General Meeting.
Guidance – FY22 (Forward 12 Months)
Vantage Towers also provided its financial performance guidance for FY22, which is summarized below:
- Revenue: €995m to €1,010m, which implies 3.8% growth, at the mid-point, over FY21
- EBITDA after Leases (EBITDAaL): margin broadly stable (i.e., 54%), implying €537m to €545m
- Recurring Free Cash Flow (RFCF): €390m to €400m
