Written by Andres Gonzalez and Amy-Jo Crowley
Mobile phone tower operator Cellnex will accelerate asset sales in a bid to get an investment grade credit rating by the middle of next year and is preparing for a wave of consolidation in the sector, CEO Marco Patuano told Reuters.
The Spanish company, which has grown through acquisitions since listing in 2015, changed direction last year when rising interest rates forced it to re-focus on cutting debt by selling non-core assets and simplifying the business.
Shares in Cellnex were up 1.5% in Madrid, compared with a 0.4% gain in the broader IBEX index.
Patuano said he expected cash generation would accelerate drastically in two or three years, when capital expenditure (capex) commitments reduce and assets are mature enough to generate higher returns.
"Capex is (now) absorbing all the cash generating. 2024, big capex. 2025, big capex, and then there is a cliff. In 2027, you're generating a lot of cash," Patuano said.
