IHS chairman Sam Darwish credits Nigeria for strong Q3 2025 earnings, raises full-year outlook

IHS Holding Limited, the New York Stock Exchange-listed parent company of IHS Towers and Africa’s largest independent telecoms infrastructure provider, has reported strong third-quarter 2025 results, surpassing market expectations and prompting an upward revision of its full-year guidance.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sam Darwish, attributed the company’s impressive performance largely to Nigeria’s improving economic environment, describing recent government policies as instrumental in stabilising the business landscape.

“The current Nigerian administration has, in our opinion, done a great job in stabilising and improving the country’s economic outlook. They have strengthened the currency, increased reserves, and reduced red tape for businesses. So, we are upbeat about Nigeria,” Darwish told investors and analysts during the company’s earnings call.

Strong Nigeria Performance Drives Group Growth

In Nigeria, IHS’ largest market, revenue rose 10.6% year-on-year to $268.0 million, fuelled by organic growth and favourable movements in the naira against the US dollar. The positive currency performance helped offset pressures from lower diesel-linked revenues.

Across the Group, total revenue grew 8.3% year-on-year to $455.1 million, despite a 3.0% inorganic revenue headwind following the sale of the company’s Kuwait operations in December 2024. Organic revenue growth stood at 6.6%, supported by strong contributions from colocation, lease amendments, new site builds, fibre services, and contractual escalations.

Favourable foreign exchange adjustments – particularly the appreciation of the naira – added a 4.7% uplift to overall performance.

Earnings, Cash Flow, and Leverage Improve

Adjusted EBITDA increased 6.3% year-on-year to $261.5 million, with a solid margin of 57.5%, consistent with the previous quarter. Net income rose to $147.4 million, reflecting operational efficiencies and strong revenue execution.

Adjusted Levered Free Cash Flow (ALFCF) surged 81.2% to $157.8 million, driven by management’s focus on cash generation and the re-timing of interest payments following the November 2024 bond refinancing. Cash from operations also climbed 42.3% to $259.6 million.

Capital expenditure totalled $77.3 million, up 16.3% year-on-year, reflecting ongoing maintenance and network expansion projects. Meanwhile, the company’s consolidated net leverage ratio improved to 3.3x, down from 3.9x a year earlier -comfortably within its target range of 3.0x to 4.0x.

Nigeria Remains the Growth Engine

Within Nigeria, organic revenue grew 5.0% (or $12.2 million), primarily due to FX resets and contractual escalations that more than offset the impact of lower diesel-related revenues and churn from MTN Nigeria’s previously announced vacated sites.

The company benefited from an average exchange rate of ₦1,523/$1 in Q3 2025 compared to ₦1,601/$1 in Q3 2024, resulting in a non-core increase of $13.5 million (5.6%) in reported revenue.

Full-Year Outlook Raised

Reflecting the strong year-to-date performance, foreign exchange tailwinds, and improving macroeconomic indicators in Nigeria, IHS Towers has revised its full-year 2025 guidance upward, signalling confidence in sustained growth across its African operations.

IHS Towers continues to operate over 40,000 towers globally, with Nigeria remaining its flagship market and key driver of long-term growth.