Anterix stumbles in pursuit of private wireless
Eight months ago, Anterix said that it expected to ink a handful of private wireless networking deals worth over $200 million in “contracted proceeds” by March of 2022. However, the company isn’t sure all the contracts will come through before the end of the quarter.
“I’m also a realist,” said Ryan Gerbrandt, the company’s CFO, during Anterix’s quarterly earnings conference call last week, according to a company-provided transcript of the event. “We’ve seen already what can happen to the timing of these deals as we get to the close and can’t rule out the alternative of that the agreements may push beyond March 31.”
The financial analysts at B. Riley Securities acknowledged that Anterix appears to have “backed off” its goal.
“Instead, Anterix attempted to focus investors’ attention on its unchanged longer-term guidance of generating $1.8 billion of contracted spectrum license proceeds by fiscal year 2024,” they wrote in a note to investors.
As a result, the analysts now expect Anterix to report just $146 million in “contracted spectrum lease proceeds” by March.
Nonetheless, the analysts with B. Riley Securities – as well as Anterix executives – maintained a positive outlook on the company’s broader business, which involves leasing 900MHz spectrum licenses to utilities and others looking to build their own private wireless networks.
“I believe it’s not a matter of ‘if’ but rather ‘when’ we close these contracts,” said Anterix CEO Robert Schwartz.
To read the complete article, visit Light Reading.