Crown Castle raises annual site rental revenue forecast on healthy leasing activity

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(Reuters) -Wireless tower operator Crown Castle raised its annual site rental revenue forecast on Wednesday, hinting at healthy leasing activity by wireless carriers as service providers continue to augment capacity.

The results follow intensifying competition among service providers, highlighting how companies are actively pursuing new avenues for growth by expanding capacity amid the 5G boom.

The real estate investment trust now expects full-year site rental revenue of around $4.00 billion and $4.04 billion, compared with its prior expectations of around $3.99 billion to $4.03 billion.

Crown Castle owns about 40,000 towers and derives the majority of its revenue from leasing out tower infrastructure to wireless carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon in the United States on a long-term basis.

For the year, the company now expects adjusted funds from operations between $4.14 and $4.25 per share, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of $4.18 apiece, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company posted second-quarter site rental revenue of $1.01 billion, compared with estimates of $1.04 billion.

For the second quarter, Crown Castle reported earnings of 67 cents per share.

(Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)