INWIT Reports 2.2% Decline in Q1 Earnings, Reiterates 2026 Targets
INWIT Q1 2024 Financial Results and Strategic Outlook
May 12 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest mobile telecoms towers company INWIT on Tuesday reported a decline in first-quarter earnings and reiterated its 2026 revenue guidance.
Q1 Earnings Performance
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation after lease costs fell to 189.9 million euros ($222.7 million) in the quarter, down 2.2% from a year earlier, the company said.
Revenue and Profit Details
• INWIT reiterated its 2026 guidance for revenues of 1,050-1,090 million euros and a dividend of at least 0.55 euros per share
• Net profit in the quarter slipped 11.1% to 81.0 million euros, while revenue declined 0.8% to 264.1 million euros
Outlook and Guidance
• "The outlook does not take into account potential upsides relating to the re-establishment of a constructive relationship with anchor clients," it said
Legal Disputes and Customer Relationships
A Milan judge on Tuesday asked for more documents before ruling on INWIT's request to stop Fastweb from leaving a key tower lease. The case is one of the legal disputes involving major customers TIM and Fastweb.
Fastweb Dispute
• The dispute with Fastweb, a unit of Swisscom, threatens leases tied to nearly 40% of INWIT's annual revenue.
• The company considers "valid and binding" through 2038 both contracts
Anchor Tenants: TIM and Fastweb
• TIM and Fastweb are INWIT's main anchor tenants and account for nearly 85% of its 1-billion-euro revenue
• Both operators are seeking to lower their lease costs and launched a JV to build up to 6,000 towers in Italy
Additional Information
($1 = 0.8529 euros)
(Reporting by Romolo Tosiani in Gdansk, Elvira Pollina in Milan; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
