Arqiva cashes in on previous investments while eyeing up new technology for future growth
Telecoms infrastructure firm Arqiva has raked in the cash over the last six months, growing its business by 10 per cent.
The Macquarie-backed firm, which owns 8,000 tower sites across the UK, added today that more was yet to come, with an order book of £5.6bn.
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Chief executive Simon Beresford-Wylie said:
Arqiva is continuing to deliver strong growth in revenue up by 10 per cent in the half year, operating profit and, importantly, cashflow from our operations.
Cash flow during the half-year leapt 84 per cent to £163m, with £466m of sales in the period.
The firm added capital costs had started to reduce after previously spending a lot investing in smart metering and DAB radio.
“Our investment and capital expenditure is focused on clearly defined opportunities and projects to ensure that the UK is at the forefront of the digital economy. We have a very strong order book with long term inflation-linked contracts and investment grade credit ratings to support these investment," said Beresford-Wylie.
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Arqiva is the only supplier of national terrestrial television and radio broadcasting services in the UK and investing increasing amounts in mobile connectivity.
Beresford-Wylie said: “We are currently developing our small cells proposition to improve 4G coverage and capacity and in the summer we will be working in partnership with Samsung to deliver an in-field trial of 5G fixed wireless access connectivity. We see considerable opportunities to increase the UK’s connectivity and ensure that the UK economy benefits."