Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane S.p.A.

good morning this is the chorus call conference operator welcome and thank you for joining the third quarter 2025 in with financial results conference call as a reminder all participants are in this and only mode after the presentation there will be an opportunity to ask questions should anyone need assistance during the conference call they may signal an operator by pressing star and zero on their telephone At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Fabio Ruffini, Strategy M&A and Investor Relations Director of Inuit. Please go ahead, sir.

Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. With me today are Diego, Inuit General Manager, and Emilia, CFO. Before we begin, allow me to draw your attention to the safe harbor statement on page two. As usual, following a brief presentation, we will be happy to take your questions.

Over to you, Diego. Thank you, Fabio, and good morning, everyone. It's a difficult day for English shares, following the updated growth expectation in the 26-23 period. It's important for us to answer the key questions you may have and lay out the priorities going forward. We expect it to grow at the low end of the target range. with revenues at about 4% compounded growth rate, more than 50% of which is contractually committed via inflation and anchor MSAs alone. The update impacts non-committed sources of revenues, densification outdoor and indoor, which are postponed. We are also factoring in slightly lower 2021 inflation at 1.5%, We acknowledge the difficult market environment with protracted financial challenges of Italian Terco sector focused on maximizing efficiency, limiting investments to the bare minimum. In the previous outlook, we implicitly assumed that over the course of 2025, there would have been initial signs of an improved market structure, following transformative transactions this improvement has yet to materialize. Having said that, Q3 results confirmed the resilience of the business expanding all industrial and financial metrics while investing in critical infrastructure from next generation EU and rural areas to Rome smart city. Today is also important to affirm with the need to catch up, since infrastructure investments cannot be postponed indefinitely. INWIC plays in a concentrated market with high barriers to entry, holding two competitive advantages, the best assets and locations in the market, and a true industrial approach to deploying assets from the ground up. In this market context, we are conscious of our role as an enabler of investments, and a driver of efficiency for operators, facilitating densification through sharing economics. This will be even more important in case of additional coverage obligations currently being discussed, linked to the extension of mobile frequency post-29. Moving to main trends of the quarter on page four, the key figures for the quarter, revenue growth by 4.1%, A bid after lease up by 4.4% with margin up 73%. Recurring cash flow at 170 million Euro with 69% cash conversion. In October, we completed the first branch of 300 million Euro share buyback and successfully issued the company's first sustainability bond. In summary, Inuit continues acting in a proactive way on the levers under our control, ready to facilitate further network densification. Now, I will turn it over to Emilia for a more detailed review of the results. Thank you.

Thank you, Diego, and good morning, everyone. On page five, the focus is on new towers. Q3 displays a continued high volume of new sites, 180, across two programs, MSA Commitment for Teams and Faster Plus Vodafone, and the 5G Next Generation EU program, where we are on track with the milestones. New towers are expected to continue to be the main network requirement of our clients. Due to data traffic growth, increasing capacity needs, the transition to 5G in suburban areas, and the need to cover approximately 9,000 kilometers of roads and railways currently lacking adequate quality connectivity. Moving to total POPs on page 6. 670 new POPs were added during the quarter, bringing the total nine-month figure to more than 2,000. This is consistent with fully a target of approximately 2.5 thousand new POPs. Of the new additions, 260 POPs were delivered to TIM and Faster Plus Vodafone, and 410 to other clients, further diversifying in which client base. Within other clients, we recorded steady pace with other MNOs, Iliad in particular. stable ads from FWA, and solid demand from utility companies for IoT gateways for smart grid applications. Next, on page 7, we review smart infrastructure. Revenues in the first quarter were up double-digit year-on-year to more than €22 million. Growth was driven by the addition of 30 new dust-equipped locations across multiple verticals, and higher tenancy ratio across the more than 700 locations we serve. INWIS covers a growing portfolio of critical infrastructure assets. Latest additions include the Rome Smart City project, one of the largest in Europe, DAS and tunnels for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games between Milan and Cortina, and international corridors connecting Italy to France and Austria, and Germany. Looking ahead, demand for dedicated indoor connectivity is expected to remain structurally solid across verticals including transportation, hospitality, healthcare, and leisure. As you know, revenues come from two client categories, M&Os based on their ability to fund additional coverage projects via recurring fees, and location owners, where demand is solid, though primarily based on project-based revenues. Next, we review the P&L. Revenue growth stood at 4.1% in line with the 2025 guidance midpoint. The drivers, as mentioned, were new pop additions for ANCORs and OLOs, as well as double-digit growth in smart infrastructure and inflation at plus 0.8%. EBITDA margins remained stable at 91.3%, while the main efficiency level continues to be least cost. 360 real estate transactions in the quarter supported EBITDA growth of 4.4% and margin expansion from 72.8% to 73%. This partially offset the impact on cost of inflation and the higher asset base for which we pay these costs. Lastly, the income increased by 5.9% to 92 million euros reflecting the expected trends in DNA, stable interest expenses, and taxes. Moving to the cash flow on page nine. The current cash flow amounted to 170 million euros in the quarter for 69% cash conversion. In the quarter, we recorded limited recurring capital, no cash taxes, which are due in Q2 and Q4, positive networking capital in line with full-year 25 guidance. List payments were higher year-on-year, mainly due to the end of the VAT split payment mechanism. This is in line with full-year expectations of about €215 million list cash out, including the effect of VAT split payment. Reported leverage to the five times net debt will be done, reflecting the completion of the first tranche of 300 million euros of share buyback plan with approximately 180 million euros in the quarter. Additionally, we're pleased to report that in October we completed two debt capital market transactions with the first sustainability link bond issuance and the partial buyback of the 2026 outstanding note. This further strengthens Inuit debt structure, extending its maturity profile, and confirming solid market interest. With this, I hand it back to Diego. Thank you.

Thank you, Emilia. On page 10, the updated expectations for 2026-2030. Growth sits at the low end of the range, with an impact of about 15 to 25 million euro progressively. versus the midpoint revenues. This is driven by the lower expectations for non-committed revenues, mostly densification projects indoor and outdoor, which we expect to be postponed or reduced by our main clients. As you know, we invest on the basis of committed revenue streams, so a project postponement also means a delay or reduction in capex. Impact is partially factored in in our updated leverage guidance. Together with the mix and facing of industrial KPIs, there will be a more granular update with fuller 25 results. Through 2030, we expect to deliver 4% revenue growth per annum. and the progressive margin expansion and leverage reduction. Committed revenues come from inflation, more than 9% combined over the next five years, MSA contracts, particularly new POPs on a new site, and the solar energy projects, and all this provides a contractually secured path to growth. Today, we are also confirming the dividend policy and capital allocation announced this past March. A few concluding remarks in the next slide. Today's presentation reflects an updated macro and industry view stemming from current industry challenges. In this context, InWit is expected to grow at 4% for revenues and 5% for margin. In any case, we continue to believe on the structural outlook for digital infrastructure in Italy, which is confirmed. There is a need to catch up, which is an opportunity. InWit continues to focus on all levers under our control, both on revenues and cost. affirming our role of an efficiency driver for operators, facilitating densification through sharing economics. With this, I thank you, and we are now ready for the Q&A session.

Thank you. This is the Coruscall conference operator. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star N1 on their touchtone telephone. To remove yourself from the question queue, please press star N2. Please pick up the receiver when asking questions. Anyone who has a question may press star N1 at this time. In interest of time, we kindly ask to limit yourself to one question only. We will pause for a moment as participants are joining the queue. First question is from Roshan Ranjit, Deutsche Bank.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for the question. I guess my question is around the evolving Italian landscape, which is something I think you've talked about now for the last few quarters. And if we think across Europe, what we've seen is where markets have evolved, there has been these behavioral remedies and the want for further densification of networks. So I guess my question is how easy is that to apply to the Italian market given the already high tenancy ratios and also the kind of more restrictive EM limits, which whilst we have seen the rules change, we haven't actually seen any practical changes in the emission limits leading to kind of more pops in smaller areas. And then you could say around how, you know, the evolving MNO Landsat can benefit you, even though that visibility is maybe a bit more limited than before. Thank you.

Thank you, Roshan. Good morning. Yeah, I think that the key point is that in Italy, the digitalization, 5G rollout is behind. all peers and European and international standards, there is a need to catch up and this is recognized by all operators in the market. So there is a significant need for additional densification both outdoor and indoor. This need currently goes, I can say, is not materialized because there are financial constraints in terms of budget limitation and return on investments. We think that the market has evolved already in 2024 in the right direction. That's not been enough to continue to evolve towards a more sustainable market. And also, let me say, initiatives and the consensus around the new license renewals in 2029, which there is a scenario where the renewal is at no limited cost against commitment to invest. These kinds of things do recognize the need to invest, do recognize the need for a more sharing economics into the industrial capabilities. So, in short, the market is behind the industry. There is a need of densification, and Ingwit is a key player to benefit from it, building in an efficient manner shared infrastructure, outdoor and indoor.

Great, thank you. If I could just follow up. I think you've, in terms of the densification, you've kind of given this target, I think it's 2.6 times by 2030. So does that require an easing or further easing of any regulation or is that under the current regime? Thanks.

Yeah, no, there is no impact from regulation. This is consistent with current regulation. Great, thank you. Welcome.

Next question is from Fabio Pavan, Mediobanca.

Yes, hi. Thank you for taking my question. I would first follow up on what you were saying, Diego, about the renewal of the license. So do you have any visibility on how long this discussion may take? Do you have already managed to discuss with regulators about this potential new scenario? And then the question is, clearly, You have managed to reach the targets and providing us a very solid equity story. What could be, if I may, upside from here in your view? So higher demand, which at some point given 5G standalone coverage is very low rather than deciding to speed up in capturing opportunities in adjacent businesses. So it's an open question. I'll leave that to you. Thank you very much.

On the frequencies, on the licenses, discussions are ongoing. I think there have been, let me quote, public declarations from the regulator, which have been supported process on forming an overall consensus on this scenario that, again, from our perspective, makes a lot of sense to the benefit of operators and the entire value chain and the entire industry. In terms of upside, I think that the updated guidance reflects timing in the development That means higher demands, higher number of new towers to densify, to cope with the additional capacity needs and the additional data traffic in urban areas, additional towers to densify the suburban areas as soon as 5G standalone advances, and new towers and dedicated connectivity clearly requires strong improvements. On top of that, indoor, there are thousands of locations where connectivity is not up to the use of data and the digital needs. So that, I would say, is the industrial key upside in terms of higher demand from the operators to deploy a digital ecosystem to advance on 5G. And this again means more towers, more point of presence, more indoor coverage. That's our core business that in these days we do see under pressure because of the budget limitations. But going forward, we do see that investment cannot be postponed forever.

Thank you.

Welcome. Next question is from Rot Body City.

Hi, thank you for taking my question. Some of them haven't been answered. So one question, basically clarification on the committed revenues are big into the guidance. If I remember correctly, sort of the area you mentioned more than 60% of the guidance is based on the committed revenues you have with the operators. Now slide shows that it's more than 50%. Just trying to understand if there's any change in terms of your committed revenue profile there. Thank you so much.

Yeah, thanks for the question. Yes, the committed revenues made up of inflation and the MSA's agreements continue this plan, and that's more than 50% of the overall growth. Where we have updated our view is on the non-committed debt. That, again, is related to the outdoor and indoor. In the business plan in the guidance we had about 1,000 additional towers which were not committed. We think that that is the bit that will take more time to materialize And by 2030, we think there will be probably around 400 towers, towers less. And this accounts for about 10 million euros. On top of that, the outdoor, the indoor densification, we have been developing this market and growing very fast. But again, there are budget constraints from the operators at this stage. And we do expect the remaining bit to come from lower indoor location. We would expect that about 20% lower location compared to the March guidance. So these are the two main bits, towers and indoor cover solution projects.

Thank you so much. Welcome.

Next question is from Andrea De Vita in Tesa San Paolo.

Yes, hello, thank you for taking my question. So my question is basically on the change in FY30 guidance because I clearly understand that on 2026 you have visibility of lower revenues. But I just want to understand whether you just applied, let's say, a mechanical new baseline for 2020-2030, assuming that no catch-up eventually takes place. So six months ago, you had the eligibility on 2030, and now it is lower. Just whether it is structurally, or you now do not assume that any catch-up which should have taken place in 2025 will not take place ever in the next four years.

Yeah, I think that this, as I showed before, what is we strongly believe in the need for investments in the sector, in the industry, which has been underinvested. the telecom separation, the fast web, Vodafone transaction, we think that overall the industry has gone into the right direction. And our assumption was that already starting from the end of 2025 with that impact in 2026, there would have been an acceleration of investments. Now, talking with customers in terms of commercial discussions, planning, The next-year activities, the rollout plan, security location, that's clear that the emphasis from the customers is on efficiency. So there is still a short-term focus on recovering efficiency and on optimizing cost. And clearly, our growth. constraints of our customers. So the fundamentals and the fundamental needs for additional investments are confirmed from our point of view. The timing is different, and this impacts for sure by 2026, but then we think that the a little bit longer, we don't see at this stage the view of an acceleration which will compensate the initial shortfall. So, in short, short-term impacted by budget limitation, medium-long-term growth with potential upside to what we have embedded in the current guidance update, growth coming from densification outdoor and indoor.

Okay, thank you very much.

Next question is from Oba Akbola, UBS.

Hi, can you hear me? Yes. Cool. Thank you. Thank you for taking the time just on what you're hearing from customers. You mentioned, you know, customers are looking to be more efficient. So, you know, postponing investment. Are you hearing anything in terms of potential renegotiation of contracts? I know this is something FastWeb Vodafone mentioned on the efficiency side. So just any update on how you see that? Thank you.

Yeah, we clearly, we continue to talk with customers on a recurring, ongoing basis. We believe the MSA is a strong contract, creates value, has been creating and creates value for all parties involved. So we are very happy to continue to discuss with customers about potential development additional investments to create value for all. And on the basis of additional investments cycle, our mission is to create efficiency to make the best effort, again, to be efficient and to share the benefits of efficiency with our customers. So that's our focus. The MSA is the MSA. Okay. Thank you. Very clear.

Next question is from Fernando Cordero Santander.

Hello, good afternoon, and thanks for taking my question. It's basically related on the guidance, and you have been trying to update into the low end of the previous revenue guidance, and this low end is following through to the rest of the main lines of the P&L. What I would want to understand is why you have maintained the EBITDA and EBITDA margins in your updated guidance despite the fact that, for example, in the third quarter we have seen the operational leverage in the business slowing a bit, particularly on EBITDA side. So in that sense, Are you reflecting the updated guidance, any increase, any effort increasing by land? Just understand why the update on Prime News is not impacting margins. Many thanks.

Thank you for the question. Overall, on the cost side, we continue our plans. And overall, the real estate programs and activities are overall on track. In the quarter, there is a specific topic in terms of comparison against the last year's same quarter. But overall, the groundless cost is on track. Therefore, we are confirming our view on that.

Okay. Very clear. Thanks. Thank you.

Next question is from Giorgio Tavolini in Termontesim.

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my two questions, please. The first one is on M&A. In particular, we recently heard about rumors on a potential tie-up between Iliad and Win3. But more in general, we know your position regarding consolidation, which is a neutral to positive event. But I was wondering if you can add more color on... Selnek's remarks regarding the fact that this kind of consolidation may temporarily weigh on tower cost cash flow due to the higher flexibility granted to the operators during the integration phase. So in the very short term, it should be a negative event. over the medium to long run should be pretty positive given the more investments and more network upgrades and better financial shape of the merged entity. The second question is on 5G standalone. Is it fair to assume a perspective that the near-term investments from the MNOs will mainly prioritize active equipment upgrades on existing sites rather than, let's say, new passive infrastructure, new sites for the network densification? Thank you.

Thank you, Giorgio. Yeah, on potential consolidation, I think that the consolidation is a mean to get to a more sustainable industry structure and to enable and habilitate additional investments. So, yes, I believe that the consolidation making the market more sustainable will drive additional investments, and so there is... a positive impact on the overall value chain, including the tower companies in terms of additional infrastructure. When talking about consolidation, it's also important to highlight our MSA protections in terms of all or nothing and active sharing protection. With regards to the second point, in terms of active versus passive, I want to say it makes sense. But what is important to highlight is that the active upgrade then drives the need for additional point of presence, so the sequence is quite short between one and the other. And the key point is, again, is investment for network improvement on clearly both radioactive and passive. That's what is needed in the market.

Thank you, Diego.

Welcome.

Next question is from Milo Silvestre, Equita.

Good morning, everybody. I have two questions. The first one concerns the recent agreement between Celnex and Vodafone on 1K hospitalities. So here, if you can elaborate on that point and if it may have an impact on your expected discretionary investments. And the second one, considering the limited investment momentum on telco infrastructure,

if we may expect an acceleration in entering new verticals such as edge data center yes maybe come back to the second part of the question i'm not sure if we understood the yeah no the the announcement is uh is related to a renewal agreement and there is no impact on Inuit. Again, let me remind the MSA features, which include the all or nothing clauses and the preferred supplier clause as well. So no impact on us. The second part of the question, so if you can kindly repeat,

Yeah, and if, let's say, considering the weak momentum on new tower or densification investments, if you are, let's say, considering entering new verticals, new verticals such as at the epicenter.

Okay, yeah, thanks. As part of our strategic plan, we have two potentials. One of those is the edge data center, the far edge, so clearly different from the hyperscaler data center, which is a different business. When the computing capacity is needed at the edge of the network, then clearly we have the infrastructure which is distributed in the country, which is connected with fiber and energy. So we have both the infrastructure and the business model, which may allow some investments on edge far data center. as a player, as a neutral host to own and run and manage the active equipment again to provide a more efficient operating model and to bring additional efficiency to the operators. These are two areas of potential developments, of potential upside for the company based on the strength of our financial position and the ability to invest and based on the industrial capabilities that we do have. In short, we have potential opportunities for the medium long term.

Grazie.

Thank you. Next question is from Riccardo Romiati, Aurelia.

Hi, thanks a lot for taking my question. Just one. Given that the lower growth from non-committed revenues probably also implies a slightly lower capex, Does this, together with the lower share price, provide an opportunity for further share buyback? And how do you think in general about shareholder remuneration going forward? Thank you.

Yeah, thanks for the question. We have the 400 million euro buyback program already approved. 300 just been finalized. We have 100 million euro for the next month and actually for Q1 and in a few days, in a couple of weeks, we will have the special dividends for 200 million euros. So that's the current shareholder remuneration. shareholder remuneration, which is a mix of dividend increase and topped up by either buyback or special dividends, and that's the way we will continue to assess the shareholder remuneration.

I'm sorry, is the share price today, do you see that as an opportunity to further boost this trend?

Yes, absolutely. I think it's, if I may, clearly, let me say that I strongly believe the current share price does not reflect the fundamental value of the company, the solidity of the business model, the cash generation, and the ability to invest and to fuel further growth. So, for sure, the share price is below fair value of the company.

Operator.

Next question is from Graham Hunt from Jefferies.

Thanks very much for the question. Just on what could see the industrial backdrop improve, is it that we're just waiting for consolidation really, or could you maybe expand on other situations which maybe could see your customers expand their budgets a little bit or we could see a pickup in growth just trying to explore different scenarios there and and on that you know we've seen one consolidation and we are still waiting for any improvement so just wondering sort of if you could reflect on why that is why are we not seeing a pickup from um vodafone fast web thanks yeah i think the industry um

may improve across different levers. Starting from the top line, I think the pricing has been a little bit more rational in the last quarter, and that's clearly a key to support the industry. A little bit of rationalization on consumer, and there is the growth in enterprise, That's, I think, it's considered in the overall digitalization environment. I think it's an opportunity, which is at the beginning, and operators will be in the condition to materialize in the next years. On cost and investments, let me mention that the energy cost is particularly high. And the other element that I did mention before is about the frequency and the renewal of the frequency with no limited cost in exchange of investments together with additional investments and coverage commitments will be a way to support the industry to get better returns and to start the investment cycle and the positive cycles of investments. services and top line growth.

Thank you. Welcome.

Mr. Ruffini, gentlemen, there are no more questions registered at this time.

In this case, thank you everyone for connecting. Have a good rest of the day.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining. The conference is now open.