Cellnex is open to acquiring competitors in Spain to become one of the groups that consolidates the telecommunications tower sector in the country, currently dominated by four groups, Cellnex, Vantage (Vodafone), Totem (Orange) and American Tower. In an appearance before the press, the CEO, Marco Patuano, said that “there is no room for the four companies”, as has already been proven with the mergers of telephone operators. Although Cellnex is interested in acquiring competitors, Patuano has acknowledged that the company has not yet started negotiations.
Meanwhile, the group is investing in acquiring land where telecommunications towers are located or where they could be installed in the future. The company has created the subsidiary Celland to carry out this activity, which is part of a strategy that allows it to control the value of the land and avoid speculation by intermediary real estate companies. At the moment, the company has already invested around 150 million euros in the acquisition of land and this year it plans to invest 200 million more in Spain, Italy, France, Poland and Portugal.
In the media appearance, the managers have also advocated for a stable political framework in the face of Pedro Sánchez’s recent announcement to present his resignation. In this sense, they have also ruled out the return of the headquarters to Barcelona, ??which the company moved to Madrid in 2017 due to the referendum for the independence of Catalonia.
This morning, Cellnex held the general meeting in which its shareholders approved the annual accounts for the 2023 financial year, when the group earned 4,053 million euros, 16% more, and obtained an Ebitda (gross profit) of 3,008 million.
“We have demonstrated a solid and resilient business in the face of the growing demand for data, connectivity and artificial intelligence,” said the CEO, Marco Patuano, before more than a hundred of the company’s shareholders. This was the first meeting held by Patuano, who took over from Tobías Martínez as director last year. This Italian executive was the favorite of the Benetton family, which through its investment company, Edizione, controls 9.9% of Cellnex shares, ahead of TCI, with 9.3%, GIC, 7%, and Criteria, with 5%.
During the appearance, the directors also referred to the distribution of dividends. The company has set 2026 as the year in which shareholder remuneration will be multiplied to 3,000 million euros. At the same time, the company does not rule out an extraordinary distribution in the event that divestments are carried out or the volatility of the stock market allows it. In this sense, the company is negotiating the sale of its business in Austria, which could close this year, although Patuano has said that Cellnex “is not desperate” to make cash. The operation would be valued at 800 to 900 million euros. Furthermore, Patuano has recognized that the stock is not going through its best moment due to high interest rates and dependence on the behavior of the United States debt.
In their appearance before the press, the directors have also expressed their interest in refinancing their debt at a fixed rate due to the volatility in the markets and high interest rates. The directors have not specified the amount although they have indicated that said operation would affect up to 25% of their debt since the remaining 75% is already referenced to a fixed rate. At the end of the first quarter, the debt stood at 17,361 million euros, so that more than 4,000 million are negotiated at a variable rate. The amount affected would be “lower” and could be “a third” of this amount, about 1,350 million euros.
