SBA Communications CEO says substantial 5G network development will continue in the U.S.
The second quarter was a strong one for wireless infrastructure company, SBA Communications Corporation, and according to SBA President and CEO Jeffrey A. Stoops, the company hit a significant milestone. “The second quarter was a special one for SBA, as it was the first in our history where we earned $500 million in revenue,” he commented.
The positive revenue results allowed SBA to increase the full year outlook for 2019.
Stoops cited strong customer activity in the U.S. as a critical piece of the company’s Q2 success, adding, “we believe that strength will continue into 2020 as our customers remain on a multi-year path to provide 5G service.”
According to Stoops, recent regulatory news around T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint, as well as date-certain 5G coverage requirements, suggests that “substantial” 5G network development will continue in the U.S.
While he commented that international activities varied by market, the company’s largest market, Brazil remained strong, resulting in 15.8% growth in AFFO per share.
The company also announced operations in South Africa through Atlas Tower South Africa, and a plan to add approximately 900 sites and a substantial backlog of new tower builds. “We believe South Africa represents a fantastic growth opportunity,” Snoops said. “We look forward to incremental growth opportunities throughout South Africa over the coming years as the wireless carriers in this market continue to invest meaningfully in 4G and, at some point, 5G deployments.”
SBA’s site leasing revenue increased 6.8% from this time last year, and the company experienced a net income of $32.0 million or $0.28 per share.
In addition, the Company’s Board of Directors declared its first cash dividend of $0.37 per share of Class A common stock, a decision that Snoops called “another milestone.”
“We are very pleased to add a dividend to the tools we have to generate increasing value for our shareholders, and excited to look to the future as to the additional value we believe we can create,” he said.
