AFFO in the fourth quarter of 2022 was $340.7 million, a 9.6% increase over the prior year period. AFFO per share in the fourth quarter of 2022 was $3.12, an 11.0% increase over the prior year period.
Investing Activities
During the fourth quarter of 2022, SBA acquired 2,642 communication sites for total cash consideration of $736.7 million, including 2,632 sites from Grupo TorreSur in Brazil for approximately $725.0 million in cash. SBA also built 162 towers during the fourth quarter of 2022. As of December 31, 2022, SBA owned or operated 39,311 communication sites, 17,416 of which are located in the United States and its territories and 21,895 of which are located internationally. In addition, the Company spent $15.9 million to purchase land and easements and to extend lease terms. Total cash capital expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2022 were $823.5 million, consisting of $13.8 million of non-discretionary cash capital expenditures (tower maintenance and general corporate) and $809.7 million of discretionary cash capital expenditures (new tower builds, tower augmentations, acquisitions, and purchasing land and easements).
Subsequent to the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company purchased or is under contract to purchase 31 communication sites for an aggregate consideration of $23.2 million in cash. The Company anticipates that these acquisitions will be consummated by the end of the second quarter of 2023.
Financing Activities and Liquidity
SBA ended the fourth quarter of 2022 with $13.0 billion of total debt, $10.0 billion of total secured debt, $187.0 million of cash and cash equivalents, short-term restricted cash, and short-term investments, and $12.8 billion of Net Debt. SBA’s Net Debt and Net Secured Debt to Annualized Adjusted EBITDA Leverage Ratios were 6.9x and 5.3x, respectively.
During the fourth quarter, the Company, through an existing trust, issued $850.0 million of Secured Tower Revenue Securities Series 2022-1C, which have an anticipated repayment date of January 11, 2028 and a final maturity date of November 9, 2052 (“the 2022-1C Tower Securities”). The fixed interest rate on the 2022-1C Tower Securities is 6.599% per annum, payable monthly. Net proceeds from this offering were used to repay the entire aggregate principal amount of the 2018-1C Tower Securities ($640.0 million), repay amounts outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility, and for general corporate purposes.
As of the date of this press release, the Company had $585.0 million outstanding under its $1.5 billion Revolving Credit Facility.
The Company did not repurchase any shares of its Class A common stock during the fourth quarter of 2022. As of the date of this filing, the Company has $504.7 million of authorization remaining under its approved repurchase plan.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Company declared and paid a cash dividend of $76.7 million.
Outlook
The Company is providing its initial full year 2023 Outlook for anticipated results. The Outlook provided is based on a number of assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable at the time of this press release. Information regarding potential risks that could cause the actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements is set forth below and in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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