CS&L third quarter earnings beat expectations, upgrades full-year forecast by three cents

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by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) November 13, 2015 8:25 am 100 views 

Communications Sales & Leasing Inc. on Friday (Nov. 13) reported that its third quarter earnings came in slightly above Wall Street expectations as the Little Rock-based real estate investment trust (REIT) heightened expectations on possible future acquisitions.

For the period ended Sept. 30, CS&L reported funds from operations (FFO) of $97 million, or 65 cents per share. CS&L was spun-off from Windstream Holdings on April 24, 2015. As such, there were no prior year comparisons for Arkansas’ newest publicly-traded concern.

Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization. Wall Street had expected CS&L to report third quarter earnings of 63 cents per share on revenue of $172.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

Going forward, CS&L forecasted full year FFO to range between $1.74 and $1.76 per diluted common share compared to a previous estimate of $1.71 and $1.73 per diluted common share.

“We expect FFO to range between $1.76 and $1.78 per diluted common share, up from $1.73 and $1.75 per diluted common share, and net income attributable to common shares to range between $0.16 and $0.18 per diluted share, up from $0.13 and $0.16 per diluted share based on our previous estimates,” the company said. “These estimates do not reflect the impact of future acquisitions.”

Although reporting a third quarter loss a week ago, Windstream officials reiterated the company’s stance that it plans to “monetize” its 20% stake in the Communications Sales & Leasing. The Fortune 500 telecom interest in CS&L is valued at $575 million, which if sold would go to pay down the company’s debt, company officials said.

CS&L will hold a conference call Friday to discuss its third quarter earnings release at 10 a.m. Central Standard Time. The Little Rock REIT was trending higher in pre-market trading activity on Friday at $19.80, up 63 cents at $3.29%.