Moody’s Upgrades Helios Towers’ Rating
Moody’s has upgraded Helios Towers plc’s corporate family rating (CFR) to Ba3 from B1. At the same time, ratings analysts upgraded the probability of default rating (PDR) to Ba3-PD from B1-PD and upgraded the rating of the outstanding $850 million backed senior unsecured notes due in 2029, issued by HTA Group, Ltd., to Ba3 from B1.
According to the rating note, the outlook for both entities has been changed to stable from positive. The rating action reflects the view that Helios Towers’ credit profile has sustainably strengthened, driven by the company’s continued solid operating performance, rising free cash flow generation and ongoing commitment to deleveraging.
Fitch said the company’s decision, in November 2025, to introduce shareholder distributions reflects its expectation that free cash flow generation will remain sustainable over the medium term.
“This policy shift is balanced by a revised, lower net leverage target of 2.5x–3.5x on a reported basis, compared with the previous target range of 3.5x–4.5x, which supports the company’s improved credit profile.
“We view the updated, prudent financial policy as evidence of strengthened governance”. Accordingly, ratings analysts at Moody’s have raised the company’s ESG governance issuer profile score to G-2 from G-3 and its Credit Impact Score (CIS) to CIS-2 from CIS-3.
On a Moody’s adjusted basis, the company reduced debt to EBITDA to 4.5x for the twelve months ended June 2025, from 4.8x as of December 2024. Over the same period, the company generated $46 million of Moody’s adjusted free cash flow.
“We expect Moody’s adjusted debt to EBITDA to decline to around 4.2x by the end of 2025 and to approximately 3.9x by the end of 2026, while sustaining positive free cash flow generation.
“We believe the company’s financial policy will balance shareholder distributions with discretionary capital expenditure and further deleveraging, supporting the preservation of its improved credit profile”.
Moody’s said Helios Towers’ rating remains supported by its leading position in seven high-growth African telecom tower markets and presence in two additional countries.
The ratings are also supported by the company’s track record of strong growth, improving profitability and annuity-like contracted cash flows underpinned by long-term contracts with leading mobile network operators – average remaining contract life of 6.8 years, representing $5.3 billion of future revenue – which benefit from automatic price escalators for power costs, inflation and foreign currency depreciation.
Moody’s assessment reflects the company’s history of prudent financial management and moderate leverage for the telecom tower industry at 4.5x as of June 2025, which analysts expect to decline to below 4.0x by the end of 2026.
The ratings supported its growing positive free cash flow generation, which analysts expect to increase further as the company reduces expansionary capex and refocuses on organic growth through colocations.
Helios Towers’ rating is constrained by the high-risk sovereign environments where the company operates, notably Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which account for around 38% and 32% of EBITDA, respectively.
The stable outlook reflects Helios Towers’ strong track record of adhering to its financial policies and our expectation that the company will continue to generate free cash flow and maintain its solid credit metrics and adequate liquidity. NASD: Deepening Nigeria’s Short-Term Capital Market
