Cellnex's nine-month core earnings rise 45%, slightly lowers outlook

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Europe's largest mobile phone tower operator, Spain's Cellnex, posted on Friday a 45% rise in nine-month core earnings, benefiting from its expansion process and revenue growth, but slightly lowered its full-year outlook.

While earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped to 1.94 billion euros ($1.97 billion), it still reported a net loss of 255 million euros, wider than 145 million a year ago as its amortisation costs jumped 52% and financial costs from 2021 acquisitions rose 28%.

Cellnex now expects adjusted EBITDA to end 2022 between 2.61 billion and 2.66 billion euros, below a previous estimate of 2.65 billion-2.7 billion euros.

Its full-year revenue are likely to reach 3.405 billion to 3.455 billion euros, which compares to 3.46 billion-3.51 billion euros estimated earlier.

($1 = 0.9849 euros)

(Reporting by Joan Faus, editing by Andrei Khalip and Inti Landauro)