Wireless tower operator Crown Castle's core profit drops 4.2%

April 30 (Reuters) - Wireless tower operator Crown Castle CCI.N reported a 4.2% decline in core profit for the first quarter on Wednesday and missed analysts' estimates for site rental revenue.

The company's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) came in at $722 million, compared to $754 million last year, due to lower contribution from site rental revenues, the company said.

Shares of the company were down about 2% in extended trading.

The real estate investment trust posted first-quarter site rental revenue of $1.01 billion, missing analysts' average estimate of $1.06 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Crown Castle, which owns about 40,000 towers, derives majority of its revenue from leasing out tower infrastructure to wireless carriers such as AT&T T.N, T-Mobile US TMUS.O and Verizon Communications VZ.N in the United States on a long-term basis.

The company reported a net loss of $464 million for the first quarter ended March 31, compared to a profit of $311 million in the year-ago period, citing a $830 million loss from its planned sale of its fiber business.

Crown Castle reported an adjusted loss of $1.07 per share, while analysts had expected a loss of 32 cents per share.

Its adjusted funds from operations for the quarter came in at $1.10 per share, compared with $1.11 per share a year earlier.