Cell Tower News: Crown Castle names new CEO, posts quarterly results

by Jarad Matula January 29, 2016

written by Jarad Matula January 29, 2016

Crown Castle announces new CEO, better than expected numbers

Crown Castle International announced both its fourth quarter financial results as well as plans for a new CEO this week. The company’s CFO Jay Brown is set to take over as both CEO and president from Ben Moreland beginning on June 1. Moreland will stay with company after succession, functioning as executive vice chairman of the board.

Crown Castle’s fourth quarter results were better than expected. Revenue grew 2.2%, from $925.9 million to $945.8 million, which was higher than analysts’ estimates of $928.5 million. Yearly revenue grew by 3.53% from 2014 to 2015, increasing from $3.54 billion to $3.66 billion. Overall, Crown Castle reported $141.1 million in profits before payout of preferred dividends and non-controlling interests, which is actually less than last year when it posted $152.6 million in profits. Per-share profit fell from 41 cents to 39 cents, with analysts’ expecting it to have been 32 cents per share.

As for the other two tower heavyweights in the U.S., American Tower has yet to release its earnings, which caused its stock to move from a buy rating to a hold rating; SBA Communications has not released its quarterly results and is rated as a “buy” stock despite being a “above-average default risk” with a “BB+” rating. Both companies are expected to release quarterly and overall 2015 financial results around the end of February.