American Tower Corp. had a good second quarter. Company CEO Jim Taiclet told investors this week Q2 results exceeded expectations due to “strong global demand for our tower space.”
Total revenue increased 27.5% to $1,031 million and total rental and management revenue increased 27.4% to $1,006 million. Second quarter results were favorably affected by the recovery of corporate expenses of approximately $7 million and a one-time cash tax refund of approximately $5 million, according to the company.
Cash expenditures included $155 million for discretionary capital projects, including spending to complete the construction of 276 towers and the installation of seven distributed antenna system networks and 336 shared generators domestically, and the construction of 366 towers and the installation of seven distributed antenna system networks internationally.
During the second quarter of 2014, American Tower spent $253 million for acquisitions, including the purchase of 85 towers in the U.S. and 423 internationally. The international acquisitions included 103 sites in Brazil from NII Holdings Inc. and 320 sites acquired from other parties.
The company has entered into agreements to purchase an aggregate of 154 towers in the United States, and approximately 2,530 towers and exclusive use rights for approximately 2,110 additional towers in Brazil. The combined purchase price for these assets is expected to be approximately $1.1 billion, and is subject to customary adjustments.
American Tower predicts favorable leasing demand for communications real estate to continue.
