Written by dimp on Mar 26, 2009 at 6:26 pm
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SBA Communications has announced its fourth-quarter 2008 financial results, beating the projections of Macquarie Capital (USA) in many key metrics, including total revenue, tower cash flow and site leasing revenue, according to an equities analyst with Macquarie, Ben Stretch. Macquarie maintains an outperform recommendation on the stock.
Tower cash flow was $85.9 million versus Macquarie’s forecasted $85.2 million. Total revenue was $134.4 million compared with Macquarie’s estimate of $130.8 million. Site leasing revenue was $111.9 million, while $110.8 million was estimated.
“The result is very much in line with our estimates, with some small upside surprise for cash flow per share,” Stretch said. “The FY09 outlook implies small upgrades to our adjusted EBITDA and equity free cash flow per share estimates.
“Much like American Tower's results, these 4Q numbers highlight the resiliency and durability of the tower leasing model. We believe top-line and free cash flow growth are set to remain hallmarks of this sector throughout FY09 and FY10, despite the turbulent macro environment.”
* Total revenue in the fourth quarter of 2008 was $134.4 million, compared with $108.9 million in the year earlier period, an increase of 23.4 percent.
* Site leasing revenue of $111.9 million was up 32.1 percent over the period a year earlier.
* Site leasing segment operating profit of $85.1 million was up 35.3 percent year over year.
* Site leasing contributed 96.9 percent of total segment operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Site development revenue was $22.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with $24.2 million in the year-earlier period, a 6.9 percent decrease. Site development segment operating profit margin was 12.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with 12.5 percent in the year earlier period.