American Tower Corporation Reports First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

Business Wire 3-May-2019 7:00 AM

CONSOLIDATED HIGHLIGHTS

First Quarter 2019

• Total revenue increased 4.1% to $1,813 million
• Property revenue increased 4.4% to $1,786 million
• Net income increased 45.4% to $408 million
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 4.9% to $1,114 million
• Consolidated AFFO increased 6.7% to $861 million

American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.

Jim Taiclet, American Tower's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We began 2019 with a solid quarter of results, highlighted by strong global leasing activity, 8.2% Organic Tenant Billings Growth in the U.S., the construction of more than 700 new sites and a 20% dividend increase.

We remain focused on driving operational excellence, prudently deploying capital and leveraging our innovation program to capitalize on exciting future opportunities as wireless networks continue to advance. With our portfolio of more than 170,000 towers, small cell systems and other communications real estate, we believe we are well positioned to take advantage of the global demand trends in mobile to continue driving attractive growth and returns for years to come."

CONSOLIDATED OPERATING RESULTS OVERVIEW

American Tower generated the following operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 (all comparative information is presented against the quarter ended March 31, 2018).

Certain wireless carriers in India are in the process of, or have recently concluded, merging their operations or exiting the marketplace. The Company's operational and financial results during the first quarter of 2019 were impacted by churn driven by this carrier consolidation process (Indian Carrier Consolidation-Driven Churn, "ICCC"). We are disclosing the additional financial metrics below to provide insight into the underlying long-term trends across the Company's business excluding these impacts. We expect ICCC to impact our operational and financial results at varying rates throughout the remainder of 2019 and to result in an overall reduction in Indian contracted tenant revenue. The impacts of ICCC on net income are not provided, as the impact on all components of the net income measure cannot be reasonably calculated.

Please refer to "Non-GAAP and Defined Financial Measures" below for definitions and other information regarding the Company's use of non-GAAP measures. For financial information and reconciliations to GAAP measures, please refer to the "Unaudited Selected Consolidated Financial Information" below.

CAPITAL ALLOCATION OVERVIEW

Distributions – During the quarter ended March 31, 2019, the Company declared the following regular cash distributions to its common stockholders:

Capital Expenditures – During the first quarter of 2019, total capital expenditures were $231 million, of which $32 million was for non-discretionary capital improvements and corporate capital expenditures. For additional capital expenditure details, please refer to the supplemental disclosure package available on the Company's website.

Acquisitions – During the first quarter of 2019, the Company spent approximately $91 million for the acquisition of 107 communications sites, located primarily in international markets, and other communications infrastructure assets.

Other Events – During the first quarter of 2019, the Company completed its previously disclosed redemption of 50% of Tata Teleservices Limited (Tata Teleservices) and Tata Sons' combined holdings of ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited (ATC TIPL) and 100% of Infrastructure Development Finance Company's (IDFC) holdings of ATC TIPL, thereby increasing its ownership interest in ATC TIPL to approximately 79%.

Subsequent to the end of the first quarter of 2019, Tata Teleservices served notice of exercise of its put options with respect to 100% of its remaining combined holdings with Tata Sons in ATC TIPL. The Company expects to complete the redemption of the remaining put shares in 2019 for total consideration of approximately INR 24.8 billion (approximately $359 million as of March 31, 2019), subject to regulatory approval. After the completion of the redemption, the Company will hold an approximately 92% ownership interest in ATC TIPL.

LEVERAGE AND FINANCING OVERVIEW

Leverage – For the quarter ended March 31, 2019, the Company's Net Leverage Ratio was 4.5x net debt (total debt less cash and cash equivalents) to first quarter 2019 annualized Adjusted EBITDA.

Liquidity – As of March 31, 2019, the Company had $3.6 billion of total liquidity, consisting of $1.0 billion in cash and cash equivalents plus the ability to borrow an aggregate of $2.6 billion under its revolving credit facilities, net of any outstanding letters of credit.

On February 14, 2019, the Company entered into a loan agreement for a new $1.3 billion unsecured term loan. The Company used the net proceeds of this new term loan, together with cash on hand, to repay all outstanding indebtedness under its 2018 term loan.

On March 15, 2019, the Company issued $650.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.375% senior unsecured notes due 2024 and $600.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.950% senior unsecured notes due 2029. The Company used the net proceeds to repay existing indebtedness under its 2013 credit facility and its 2014 credit facility.

Subsequent to the end of the first quarter, on April 22, 2019, the Company completed its previously announced redemption of all of its outstanding 5.050% senior unsecured notes due 2020 for an aggregate principal amount of $700 million.

FULL YEAR 2019 OUTLOOK

The following full year 2019 financial and operational estimates are based on a number of assumptions that management believes to be reasonable and reflect the Company's expectations as of May 3, 2019. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates as a result of various factors, and the Company refers you to the cautionary language regarding "forward-looking" statements included in this press release when considering this information.

The Company's outlook is based on the following average foreign currency exchange rates to 1.00 U.S. Dollar for May 3, 2019 through December 31, 2019: (a) 44.30 Argentinean Pesos; (b) 3.85 Brazilian Reais; (c) 670 Chilean Pesos; (d) 3,130 Colombian Pesos; (e) 0.89 Euros; (f) 5.35 Ghanaian Cedi; (g) 70.20 Indian Rupees; (h) 102 Kenyan Shillings; (i) 19.40 Mexican Pesos; (j) 360 Nigerian Naira; (k) 6,190 Paraguayan Guarani; (l) 3.30 Peruvian Soles; (m) 14.40 South African Rand; and (n) 3,750 Ugandan Shillings.

The Company's outlook reflects estimated unfavorable impacts of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations to property revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Consolidated AFFO, of approximately $13 million, $14 million and $12 million, respectively, as compared to the Company's prior 2019 outlook. The impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations on net income is not provided, as the impact on all components of the net income measure cannot be calculated without unreasonable effort.

The Company's full year 2019 outlook also reflects estimated cumulative expected unfavorable impacts of ICCC on property revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Consolidated AFFO of approximately $380 million, $268 million and $214 million, respectively, inclusive of an expected reduction in pass-through revenue of approximately $83 million. These impacts are unchanged from the Company's prior outlook and include consolidation churn experienced through the end of the first quarter of 2019, as well as the incremental expected impacts of ICCC throughout the remainder of 2019. The expected 2019-specific impacts of ICCC to property revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and Consolidated AFFO are $191 million, $148 million and $118 million, respectively, including $22 million in lower pass-through revenue. At this time, the Company expects the impacts of ICCC to last throughout 2019 and anticipates that churn rates in India will return to lower levels in 2020 and beyond. The Company is providing key outlook measures adjusted to quantify the impacts of ICCC on such measures and the impact of ICCC and the Company's settlement with Tata Teleservices and related entities (Tata) in the fourth quarter of 2018 on growth rates as it believes that these adjusted measures better reflect the long-term trajectory of its recurring business and provide investors with a more comprehensive analysis of the Company's operations. The impacts of ICCC and the Tata settlement on net income are not provided, as the impact on all components of the net income measure cannot be calculated without unreasonable effort.

Additional information pertaining to the impact of foreign currency, London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) fluctuations and ICCC on the Company's outlook has been provided in the supplemental disclosure package available on the Company's website.

Conference Call Information

American Tower will host a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 and its updated outlook for 2019. Supplemental materials for the call will be available on the Company's website, www.americantower.com. The conference call dial-in numbers are as follows:

U.S./Canada dial-in: (800) 260-0718International dial-in: (651) 291-1246Passcode: 465582

When available, a replay of the call can be accessed until 11:59 p.m. ET on May 17, 2019. The replay dial-in numbers are as follows:

U.S./Canada dial-in: (800) 475-6701International dial-in: (320) 365-3844Passcode: 465582

American Tower will also sponsor a live simulcast and replay of the call on its website, www.americantower.com.

About American Tower

American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 170,000 communications sites. For more information about American Tower, please visit the "Earnings Materials" and "Company & Industry Resources" sections of our investor relations website at www.americantower.com.

Non-GAAP and Defined Financial Measures

In addition to the results prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP) provided throughout this press release, the Company has presented the following Non-GAAP and Defined Financial Measures: Gross Margin, Operating Profit, Operating Profit Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Nareit Funds From Operations (FFO) attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders, Consolidated Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO), AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders, Consolidated AFFO per Share, AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders per Share, Free Cash Flow, Net Debt, Net Leverage Ratio and Indian Carrier Consolidation-Driven Churn (ICCC). In addition, the Company presents: Tenant Billings, Tenant Billings Growth, Organic Tenant Billings Growth and New Site Tenant Billings Growth.

These measures are not intended to replace financial performance measures determined in accordance with GAAP. Rather, they are presented as additional information because management believes they are useful indicators of the current financial performance of the Company's core businesses and are commonly used across its industry peer group. As outlined in detail below, the Company believes that these measures can assist in comparing company performance on a consistent basis irrespective of depreciation and amortization or capital structure, while also providing valuable incremental insight into the underlying operating trends of its business.

Depreciation and amortization can vary significantly among companies depending on accounting methods, particularly where acquisitions or non-operating factors, including historical cost basis, are involved. The Company's Non-GAAP and Defined Financial Measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Revenue Components

In addition to reporting total revenue, the Company believes that providing transparency around the components of its revenue provides investors with insight into the indicators of the underlying demand for, and operating performance of, its real estate portfolio. Accordingly, the Company has provided disclosure of the following revenue components: (i) Tenant Billings, (ii) New Site Tenant Billings; (iii) Organic Tenant Billings; (iv) International pass-through revenue; (v) Straight-line revenue; (vi) Pre-paid amortization revenue; (vii) Foreign currency exchange impact; and (viii) Other revenue.

Tenant Billings: The majority of the Company's revenue is generated from non-cancellable, long-term tenant leases. Revenue from Tenant Billings reflects several key aspects of the Company's real estate business: (i) "colocations/amendments" reflects new tenant leases for space on existing towers and amendments to existing leases to add additional tenant equipment; (ii) "escalations" reflects contractual increases in billing rates, which are typically tied to fixed percentages or a variable percentage based on a consumer price index; (iii) "cancellations" reflects the impact of tenant lease terminations or non-renewals or, in limited circumstances, when the lease rates on existing leases are reduced; and (iv) "new sites" reflects the impact of new property construction and acquisitions.

New Site Tenant Billings: Day-one Tenant Billings associated with sites that have been built or acquired since the beginning of the prior-year period. Incremental colocations/amendments, escalations or cancellations that occur on these sites after the date of their addition to our portfolio are not included in New Site Tenant Billings. The Company believes providing New Site Tenant Billings enhances an investor's ability to analyze the Company's existing real estate portfolio growth as well as its development program growth, as the Company's construction and acquisition activities can drive variability in growth rates from period to period.

Organic Tenant Billings: Tenant Billings on sites that the Company has owned since the beginning of the prior-year period, as well as Tenant Billings activity on new sites that occurred after the date of their addition to the Company's portfolio.

International pass-through revenue: A portion of the Company's pass-through revenue is based on power and fuel expense reimbursements and therefore subject to fluctuations in fuel prices. As a result, revenue growth rates may fluctuate depending on the market price for fuel in any given period, which is not representative of the Company's real estate business and its economic exposure to power and fuel costs. Furthermore, this expense reimbursement mitigates the economic impact associated with fluctuations in operating expenses, such as power and fuel costs and land rents in certain of the Company's markets. As a result, the Company believes that it is appropriate to provide insight into the impact of pass-through revenue on certain revenue growth rates.

Straight-line revenue: Under GAAP, the Company recognizes revenue on a straight-line basis over the term of the contract for certain of its tenant leases. Due to the Company's significant base of non-cancellable, long-term tenant leases, this can result in significant fluctuations in growth rates upon tenant lease signings and renewals (typically increases), when amounts billed or received upfront upon these events are initially deferred. These signings and renewals are only a portion of the Company's underlying business growth and can distort the underlying performance of our Tenant Billings Growth. As a result, the Company believes that it is appropriate to provide insight into the impact of straight-line revenue on certain growth rates in revenue and select other measures.

Pre-paid amortization revenue: The Company recovers a portion of the costs it incurs for the redevelopment and development of its properties from its tenants. These upfront payments are then amortized over the initial term of the corresponding tenant lease. Given this amortization is not necessarily directly representative of underlying leasing activity on its real estate portfolio, (i.e. does not have a renewal option or escalation as our tenant leases do) the Company believes that it is appropriate to provide insight into the impact of pre-paid amortization revenue on certain revenue growth rates to provide transparency into the underlying performance of our real estate business.

Foreign currency exchange impact: The majority of the Company's international revenue and operating expenses are denominated in each country's local currency. As a result, foreign currency fluctuations may distort the underlying performance of our real estate business from period to period, depending on the movement of foreign currency exchange rates versus the U.S. Dollar. The Company believes it is appropriate to quantify the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations on its reported growth to provide transparency into the underlying performance of its real estate business.

Other revenue: Other revenue represents revenue not captured by the above listed items and can include items such as tenant settlements and fiber solutions revenue.

Non-GAAP and Defined Financial Measure Definitions

Tenant Billings Growth: The increase or decrease resulting from a comparison of Tenant Billings for a current period with Tenant Billings for the corresponding prior-year period, in each case adjusted for foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. The Company believes this measure provides valuable insight into the growth in recurring Tenant Billings and underlying demand for its real estate portfolio.

Organic Tenant Billings Growth: The portion of Tenant Billings Growth attributable to Organic Tenant Billings. The Company believes that organic growth is a useful measure of its ability to add tenancy and incremental revenue to its assets for the reported period, which enables investors and analysts to gain additional insight into the relative attractiveness, and therefore the value, of the Company's property assets.

New Site Tenant Billings Growth: The portion of Tenant Billings Growth attributable to New Site Tenant Billings. The Company believes this measure provides valuable insight into the growth attributable to Tenant Billings from recently acquired or constructed properties.

Indian Carrier Consolidation-Driven Churn (ICCC): Tenant cancellations specifically attributable to short-term carrier consolidation in India. Includes impacts of carrier exits from the marketplace and carrier cancellations as a result of consolidation, but excludes normal course churn. The Company believes that providing this additional metric enhances transparency and provides a better understanding of its recurring business without the impact of what it believes to be a transitory event.

Gross Margin: Revenues less operating expenses, excluding stock-based compensation expense recorded in costs of operations, depreciation, amortization and accretion, selling, general, administrative and development expense and other operating expenses. The Company believes this measure provides valuable insight into the site-level profitability of its assets.

Operating Profit: Gross Margin less selling, general, administrative and development expense, excluding stock-based compensation expense and corporate expenses. The Company believes this measure provides valuable insight into the site-level profitability of its assets while also taking into account the overhead expenses required to manage each of its operating segments.

For segment reporting purposes, in periods through the third quarter of 2018, the Latin America property segment Operating Profit and Gross Margin also include interest income (expense), TV Azteca, net. Operating Profit and Gross Margin are before interest income, interest expense, gain (loss) on retirement of long-term obligations, other income (expense), net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest and income tax benefit (provision).

Operating Profit Margin: The percentage that results from dividing Operating Profit by revenue.

Adjusted EBITDA: Net income before income (loss) from equity method investments, income tax benefit (provision), other income (expense), gain (loss) on retirement of long-term obligations, interest expense, interest income, other operating income (expense), depreciation, amortization and accretion and stock-based compensation expense. The Company believes this measure provides valuable insight into the profitability of its operations while at the same time taking into account the central overhead expenses required to manage its global operations. In addition, it is a widely used performance measure across the telecommunications real estate sector.

Adjusted EBITDA Margin: The percentage that results from dividing Adjusted EBITDA by total revenue.

Nareit Funds From Operations (FFO), as defined by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit), attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders: Net income before gains or losses from the sale or disposal of real estate, real estate related impairment charges, real estate related depreciation, amortization and accretion and dividends on preferred stock, and including adjustments for (i) unconsolidated affiliates and (ii) noncontrolling interests. The Company believes this measure provides valuable insight into the operating performance of its property assets by excluding the charges described above, particularly depreciation expenses, given the high initial, up-front capital intensity of the Company's operating model. In addition, it is a widely used performance measure across the telecommunications real estate sector.

Consolidated Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO): Nareit FFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders before (i) straight-line revenue and expense, (ii) stock-based compensation expense, (iii) the deferred portion of income tax, (iv) non-real estate related depreciation, amortization and accretion, (v) amortization of deferred financing costs, capitalized interest, debt discounts and premiums and long-term deferred interest charges, (vi) other income (expense), (vii) gain (loss) on retirement of long-term obligations, (viii) other operating income (expense), and adjustments for (ix) unconsolidated affiliates and (x) noncontrolling interests, less cash payments related to capital improvements and cash payments related to corporate capital expenditures. The Company believes this measure provides valuable insight into the operating performance of its property assets by further adjusting the Nareit FFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders metric to exclude the factors outlined above, which if unadjusted, may cause material fluctuations in Nareit FFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders growth from period to period that would not be representative of the underlying performance of the Company's property assets in those periods. In addition, it is a widely used performance measure across the telecommunications real estate sector.

Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders: Consolidated AFFO, excluding the impact of noncontrolling interests on both Nareit FFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders and the other line items included in the calculation of Consolidated AFFO. The Company believes that providing this additional metric enhances transparency, given the minority interests in its Indian and European businesses.

Consolidated AFFO per Share: Consolidated AFFO divided by the diluted weighted average common shares outstanding.

AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders per Share: AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders divided by the diluted weighted average common shares outstanding.

Free Cash Flow: Cash provided by operating activities less total cash capital expenditures, including payments on finance leases and perpetual land easements. The Company believes that Free Cash Flow is useful to investors as the basis for comparing our performance and coverage ratios with other companies in its industry, although this measure of Free Cash Flow may not be directly comparable to similar measures used by other companies.

Net Debt: Total long-term debt, including current portion and finance lease liabilities, less cash and cash equivalents.

Net Leverage Ratio: Net Debt divided by the quarter's annualized Adjusted EBITDA (the quarter's Adjusted EBITDA multiplied by four). The Company believes that including this calculation is important for investors and analysts given it is a critical component underlying its credit agency ratings.

Cautionary Language Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" concerning our goals, beliefs, expectations, strategies, objectives, plans, future operating results and underlying assumptions and other statements that are not necessarily based on historical facts. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our full year 2019 outlook and other targets, our expectations regarding Indian Carrier Consolidation-Driven Churn (ICCC) and factors that could affect such expectations, foreign currency exchange rates, our expectations for the redemption of shares in ATC TIPL and our expectations regarding the leasing demand for communications real estate. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated in our forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: (1) a significant decrease in leasing demand for our communications infrastructure would materially and adversely affect our business and operating results, and we cannot control that demand; (2) increasing competition within our industry may materially and adversely affect our revenue; (3) if our tenants consolidate their operations, exit the telecommunications business or share site infrastructure to a significant degree, our growth, revenue and ability to generate positive cash flows could be materially and adversely affected; (4) our business is subject to government and tax regulations and changes in current or future laws or regulations could restrict our ability to operate our business as we currently do or impact our competitive landscape; (5) our foreign operations are subject to economic, political and other risks that could materially and adversely affect our revenues or financial position, including risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; (6) a substantial portion of our revenue is derived from a small number of tenants, and we are sensitive to changes in the creditworthiness and financial strength of our tenants; (7) our expansion initiatives involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including those related to integrating acquired or leased assets, that could adversely affect our operating results, disrupt our operations or expose us to additional risk; (8) new technologies or changes in our or a tenant's business model could make our tower leasing business less desirable and result in decreasing revenues and operating results; (9) competition for assets could adversely affect our ability to achieve our return on investment criteria; (10) our leverage and debt service obligations may materially and adversely affect our ability to raise additional financing to fund capital expenditures, future growth and expansion initiatives and to satisfy our distribution requirements; (11) if we fail to remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, we will be subject to tax at corporate income tax rates, which may substantially reduce funds otherwise available, and even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may face tax liabilities that impact earnings and available cash flow; (12) complying with REIT requirements may limit our flexibility or cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities; (13) restrictive covenants in the agreements related to our securitization transactions, our credit facilities and our debt securities could materially and adversely affect our business by limiting flexibility, and we may be prohibited from paying dividends on our common stock, which may jeopardize our qualification for taxation as a REIT; (14) our towers, fiber networks, data centers or computer systems may be affected by natural disasters, security breaches and other unforeseen events for which our insurance may not provide adequate coverage; (15) our costs could increase and our revenues could decrease due to perceived health risks from radio emissions, especially if these perceived risks are substantiated; (16) we could have liability under environmental and occupational safety and health laws; (17) if we are unable to protect our rights to the land under our towers, it could adversely affect our business and operating results; and (18) if we are unable or choose not to exercise our rights to purchase towers that are subject to lease and sublease agreements at the end of the applicable period, our cash flows derived from those towers will be eliminated. For additional information regarding factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in our forward-looking statements, we refer you to the information contained in Item 1A of our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, under the caption "Risk Factors". We undertake no obligation to update the information contained in this press release to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances.

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In millions, except share and per share data)

UNAUDITED SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION($ in millions, totals may not add due to rounding.)The reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income and the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA Margin are as follows:

The reconciliation of Nareit FFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders to net income and the calculation of Consolidated AFFO, Consolidated AFFO per Share, AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders and AFFO attributable to American Tower Corporation common stockholders per Share are as follows:

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