American Tower Corp. Reports Revenue Boost

BOSTON: Net income rose on higher revenues for American Tower Corp., one of the nation’s largest providers of communications tower space. American (NYSE:AMT) reported net income of $58.8 million for 1Q09, up 39 percent from $42.2 million last year. Revenues were up 3 percent to $408.7 million. The majority of new revenues were attributed to new tenants renting space on tower sites or existing tenants adding equipment.

AMT has 19,600 tower sites in the United States, where it derived 97 percent of revenues for the quarter. More than 200 of the U.S. sites are TV towers.

The company had $303 million in cash and equivalents at the end of the quarter; outstanding debt was $4.3 billion. AMT said it anticipated having sufficient cash flow to fund capital expenditures and debt service over the next 12 months. The company said it had no material debt maturities within the next three years.

Shares of AMT first dipped in today’s trading below $29, then rose to $29.76 by mid-afternoon, following a similar trajectory of the wider market. – Deborah D. McAdams