What happened
Shares of IHS Holding (IHS 4.82%) were moving higher today after the global cell tower operator posted strong results in its fourth-quarter earnings report, as the company easily beat top-line estimates and issued better-than-expected guidance for 2023.
The stock closed up 20.2% on the news.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Revenue in the quarter jumped 26.6%, or 23.5% on an organic basis to $526.2 million, which easily beat the consensus at $486.8 million.
The company also delivered strong profitability on an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) basis, with adjusted EBITDA at $272.7 million, good for a margin of 52%, and up 26% from the year before.
On the bottom line, the company posted a per-share loss of $0.82, as it took unrealized losses for currency exchange and its interest expense rose as interest rates went up. While that was significantly worse than the consensus at a per-share profit of $0.04, investors seemed to overlook it, given the strong revenue, EBITDA, and cash flow.
Touting the results for the full year, CEO Sam Darwish said, "During 2022 we accomplished a lot, which we believe demonstrates not just the growth potential within our business, but also its resilience in the challenging global macroeconomic environment."
Now what
Looking ahead, the company expects organic revenue to jump 23% to $2.19 billion-$2.22 billion, which was better than the consensus at $2.09 billion, and it sees adjusted EBITDA of $1.2 billion-$1.22 billion. It also plans to build 1,200 new towers, of which 750 will be in Brazil.
With a unique focus on developing countries, IHS is delivering strong growth in a difficult macro environment. If it can maintain that growth rate, the recent IPO should have more upside ahead.
