American Tower 1Q profit surges, helped by strong demand

BOSTON—American Tower Corp., an operator and developer of broadcast and wireless communications sites, said Friday its first-quarter profit surged 90 percent, helped by strong demand in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil.

For the period ended March 31, net income jumped to $42.2 million, or 10 cents per share, compared with $22.2 million, or 5 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 9 cents per share.

Total operating expenses declined to $237.3 million from $266.4 million.

Quarterly revenue grew 8 percent to $382.2 million from $352.5 million in the prior year, missing Wall Street's estimate of $383.4 million.