Helios Towers plc (LON:HTWS) came out with its quarterly results last week, and we wanted to see how the business is performing and what industry forecasters think of the company following this report. Revenues were US$195m, with Helios Towers reporting some 2.2% below analyst expectations. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company’s performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there’s been a change in sentiment towards the company. We’ve gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.
View our latest analysis for Helios Towers
Following the latest results, Helios Towers’ five analysts are now forecasting revenues of US$798.1m in 2024. This would be a credible 4.9% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Helios Towers is also expected to turn profitable, with statutory earnings of US$0.055 per share. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$802.6m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.057 in 2024. So it looks like there’s been a small decline in overall sentiment after the recent results – there’s been no major change to revenue estimates, but the analysts did make a minor downgrade to their earnings per share forecasts.
It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target was broadly unchanged at UK£1.84, with the analysts clearly implying that the forecast decline in earnings is not expected to have much of an impact on valuation. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so – it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. There are some variant perceptions on Helios Towers, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at UK£2.63 and the most bearish at UK£1.15 per share. Note the wide gap in analyst price targets? This implies to us that there is a fairly broad range of possible scenarios for the underlying business.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Helios Towers’ past performance and to peers in the same industry. We would highlight that Helios Towers’ revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 10% annualised growth rate until the end of 2024 being well below the historical 16% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 1.9% annually. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that Helios Towers is also expected to grow faster than the wider industry.
The Bottom Line
The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Helios Towers. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at UK£1.84, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.
With that in mind, we wouldn’t be too quick to come to a conclusion on Helios Towers. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year’s profits. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Helios Towers going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..
Plus, you should also learn about the 1 warning sign we’ve spotted with Helios Towers .
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.