Spain's Cellnex on Thursday announced a 14% increase in 2023 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to €3 billion ($3.24 billion), while revenue grew 16% and free cash flow turned positive ahead of schedule.

Europe's largest mobile tower operator still had a net loss of EUR297 million, the same amount as in 2022, due to the impact of write-downs and finance costs associated with previous acquisitions.

Free cash flow was positive by €150 million last year, a target the company had set itself for 2024. It went from negative €1.1 billion in 2022 and the company attributes the improvement largely to tower sales in France as part of corrective measures imposed by regulators following its acquisition of Hivory in 2021.

Cellnex has shifted its focus from expansion through acquisitions to reducing debt and has been accelerating the divestment of some assets to that end. It also reiterated its goal of obtaining a credit rating upgrade in 2024.

Its net debt reached €17.3 billion at the end of last year, some €200 million lower than in the third quarter. The company said it had access to immediate liquidity of €4.6 billion.

(1 U.S. dollar = 0.9254 euros)

(Reporting by Joan Faus; editing by Andrei Khalip; edited in Spanish by Javi West Larrañaga)