BOSTON-American Tower Corp.’s fourth-quarter 2003 earnings reported today were in line with analyst expectations.
The company said revenues totaled $191.5 million, up from $177.4 million for the fourth quarter 2002. Net loss decreased to $51.2 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with $52.4 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. For the full year, revenues stood at $715.1 million, up from $675.1 million for the full-year 2002. Net loss for 2003 was $303.4 million, improved from $1.14 billion, or $5.84 per share, for 2002.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 17 percent from the fourth quarter 2002 to $104.9 million, and increased 25 percent for the full year to $390.8 million. The company said free cash flow, which it defines as “adjusted EBITDA less interest expense and capital expenditures incurred, excluding acquisitions and divestitures,” was $20.5 million for the fourth quarter and $61.5 million for the year.
The company owned approximately 13,300 towers at the end of 2003. During the final quarter, the company sold non-core assets valued at $33.7 million, including 206 non-strategic towers, as part of its continued strategy of divesting non-core assets. The company said it may see $10.5 million in proceeds from additional asset sales during this quarter.
Meanwhile, American Tower closed on an additional 69 towers for $10.6 million from NII Holdings, bringing the number of towers acquired from NII Holdings to 665. The company also last quarter agreed to purchase up to 143 towers from Mexico’s Iusacell Celular for up to $31.4 million. American Tower closed on 34 Iusacell towers during the fourth quarter and expects to close on the rest by the end of the third quarter of this year. American Tower also agreed to acquire approximately 80 domestic towers for $4.1 million, and expects to close on them this quarter.
American Tower forecasts total revenue will increase throughout 2004, while net losses will decrease steadily.
Shares of American Tower were trading slightly down at $11.90 following the earnings release Wednesday.
