Crown Castle Earnings Surge, Raises Outlook

   By Maria Armental 
 

Crown Castle International Corp.'s (CCI) earnings surged in the first three months of the year, its first full quarter operating as a real-estate investment trust.

The Houston-based cell tower company also said it increased the midpoint of its outlook for site rental revenue and adjusted earnings for the year.

The company's results have benefited from growing demand for faster data and acquisitions, including a deal late last year with AT&T Inc. (T) to buy the rights to about 9,100 towers and own outright 600 towers.

The REIT designation, typically used for companies that manage real estate for profit, allows companies to avoid most corporate taxes as long as they pay at least 90% of their taxable income through dividends to shareholders.

For the first quarter, Crown Castle reported earnings of $90.5 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with $15.4 million, or 5 cents a share, a year earlier.

In January, the company had projected per-share earnings of 27 cents to 37 cents.

Revenue jumped 18% to $876 million while gross margin narrowed to 28.7% from 31.8% a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected $853.89 million in revenue.

Meanwhile, adjusted funds from operations increased 33% to $349 million from $263 million a year earlier.

Shares were inactive in after-hours trading and closed Wednesday at $74.85. They are up slightly for the year.

Write to Maria Armental at [e-mail]

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