HOUSTON (AP) — Cell phone tower operator Crown Castle International said Tuesday that it posted a narrower loss in the fourth quarter as site rental revenue rose, but its results widely missed Wall Street expectations.
Crown Castle shares fell $1.06, or 6.3 percent, in after-hours trading, after finishing regular trading up 90 cents, or 5.7 percent, at $16.80.
For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, Crown Castle reported a loss of $69 million, or 24 cents per share, compared with a loss of $85.4 million, or 30 cents, in the year-ago quarter.
The company's revenue rose more than 4 percent to $392 million. Site rental, which makes up the vast majority of its revenue, rose 5 percent to $355 million.
The company said that tower leasing demand has stayed strong, because of demand for voice and 3G data services and the move from landline to wireless services.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a smaller loss of 4 cents per share on $385.4 million in revenue.
The company also reported a $32.2 million impairment charge related to a drop in the value of its investment in FiberTower.
For the full year, Crown Castle reported a loss of $69.7 million, or 25 cents per share, compared with a loss of $243.6 million, or 87 cents per share, in 2007. The company's revenue rose 10 percent to $1.53 billion.
Looking forward, Crown Castle expects to report a loss of 14 cents per share or a profit as great as 6 cents per share in the first quarter. For the full year, the company predicted it will break even on a per-share basis or report a loss of up to 51 cents per share.
Analysts are expecting a first-quarter loss of 4 cents per share and a full-year loss of 8 cents per share.