IHS Towers, Africa’s largest independent telecommunications tower infrastructure company, grew its revenue by 8.2% in the first half of 2026, but higher diesel and power costs, along with expenses related to its proposed takeover by MTN Group, put pressure on its profits.

Revenue from continuing operations rose 8.2% to $844 million in the six months to June, compared with $780.3 million a year earlier. Revenue also grew 10.4% in the second quarter to $428.6 million, according to the company’s H1 financial report.

The results show how rising diesel costs are putting pressure on IHS’s profitability, making cost control increasingly important as the company prepares for its proposed takeover by MTN.

Operating income fell 38.4% year-on-year, while net income rose 10.3% in the first half compared with H1 2025. However, IHS swung to a $7.5 million net loss in the second quarter.

A major reason was the rising cost of powering its towers. Diesel prices in Nigeria increased sharply during the first half of the year, from an average of ₦1,361.57 ($0.999) per litre in January to ₦3,277.47 ($2.41) in May in some parts of the country. 

That rise in diesel prices fed directly into IHS’s power costs. The company spent $205.4 million on power generation, primarily diesel, in the first half, up from $165.4 million a year earlier. IHS said the increase was partly driven by higher global energy prices and geopolitical tensions.

“We incur capital expenditure in relation to the maintenance of our towers and fiber equipment, which is non-discretionary in nature and required for us to optimally run our portfolio and to perform in line with our service level agreements with customers,” the company noted in its report.

Merger-related expenses also added to the pressure. IHS recorded $83.1 million in accelerated share-based payment and long-term employee incentive expenses during the first half, linked to the proposed MTN acquisition and the company’s asset sales.

Despite these pressures, adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA), a measure of the company’s underlying operating performance, rose 2.6% to $514 million. The company also benefited from the stronger naira when its Nigerian operations were converted into dollars. 

The currency movement added $40.7 million to second-quarter revenue and $22.6 million to adjusted EBITDA compared with the same period last year.

However, underlying revenue growth was weaker. Organic revenue declined 0.6% in the first half as gains from new tenants, new sites and lease changes were offset by lower foreign exchange-related revenue and the loss of some sites. IHS said about 1,050 sites were vacated following the renewal of its contract with MTN Nigeria.

The company is also reshaping its business ahead of the MTN takeover. IHS shareholders approved MTN’s proposed $8.50-per-share cash acquisition in August. The deal is still subject to the remaining regulatory and closing conditions.

“The proposed acquisition of IHS Towers by MTN, an important step in the Group’s evolution, was recently approved by our shareholders and remains on track to close in 2026, subject to the remaining closing conditions,” said Sam Darwish, IHS Towers Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

In May, IHS sold its 51% stake in Brazilian fibre company I-Systems to TIM S.A, a Brazilian telecommunications company, for $183 million in gross cash. In August, it completed the sale of its Brazilian and Colombian tower operations, covering about 9,000 sites, to Macquarie Asset Management for an enterprise value of about $952 million.

The sales mark IHS’s exit from Latin America and leave the company focused on its African operations. As of June 30, IHS operated 37,672 towers across seven countries, although its tower count was down by 1,512 from a year earlier, largely because of the sale of its Rwanda operations.

IHS ended June with $1.5 billion in total liquidity, including $1.09 billion in cash and $407.1 million in unused credit facilities. It had $3.11 billion in total borrowings.

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