NEW YORK-Once again, the tower operators are postponing their earnings releases for the fourth quarter. The major players, American Tower Corp., Crown Castle International and Global Signal Inc., said they are still reviewing their accounts.
Others like SBA Communications and SpectraSite have not released their financial results either.
Most major tower players had announced at different times in February that they were reviewing their accounting methods following a letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission asking them to adjust to a new set of leasing rules. The letter was issued to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
“In the light of these recent developments, the company is working with its independent auditors to review its accounting for leases and related long-lived assets and believes that changes are required with respect to certain of its towers on leased land,” said Global Signal when it postponed its earnings release in February.
The tower operators had set March 10 as the date to release their earnings, but this week put the releases off again to later in March. Most expect to unveil their results by March 31.
All the companies said the accounting changes will not have any impact on their cash positions.
“We believe this matter has few fundamental implications for the tower stocks, but note that some investors focused on EV/EBITDA multiples have concern,” commented Jonathan Atkin of RBC Capital Markets.
He remarked that the delay still will not affect their cash profiles, but the companies are trying to ensure error-free accounting.
He said the rules do not affect tower operators alone, but also other businesses with significant lease transactions like restaurants and retailers. He explained that their stocks also have not been affected by the change in accounting rules.
The firms are not just reviewing their accounts for the fourth quarter, but are looking as far back as the three-year period ended Dec.31, 2003, and the first three quarters of 2004.
