Wall Street worries over SBA’s widening losses

Tower vendor SBA Communications Corp. reported a wider net loss for the first quarter while revenues improved.
The company reported total revenues of $95.8 million, up 39.2% from revenues of $68.8 million during the same period last year. SBA said its net loss increased from $9.2 million last year to $16.4 million during the first quarter.
“We are off to a good start to 2007,” said Jeffrey Stoops, SBA’s president and CEO. “Customer demand has grown since the beginning of the year, and we currently have the largest leasing backlog that we have had since our large tower acquisition last year. We expect customer demand to continue to improve, leading to a stronger second half of 2007 and a solid 2008.”
During the quarter, SBA added 151 towers to its portfolio, 112 of which were purchased and 9 were built. The company’s total portfolio includes 5,702 towers.
SBA provided guidance for 2007, which calls for total revenues of between $398 million and $423 million. Previously the company said it expected revenues for the year of between $393 million and $423 million. Analysts, on average, expect the company to report revenues of $406.2 million.
SBA’s stock was down slightly after the news to around $29.81 per share.