Iridium earnings fall 42%; revenue up - Austin Business Journal:

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The Bethesda-based provider of satellite telephone services, which expectas to become publicly traded this summer through an posted a 42 percent decline in net income in the firsgt quarter endedMarch 31, to $9.7 million from $16.u7 million a year ago. Th compant attributed the decline to costs related toits next-generatio n satellite program. “Iridium continued to grow, althoug h the pace slowed given the current economic said CEOMatt Desch.
“In addition to the impac of phasing outequipment amortization, we believwe the economic climate is affecting equipment sales, as is the transition of newl y introduced products into the distribution channeo as our partners move existing inventorgy to make way for new product.” Company officials say eithert Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin or Thales Alenia Spacee will be selected as the program’ lead contractor this summer. The program’s new networ k of satellites called Iridium NEXT is expectec to be deployedin 2014.
Iridiumm NEXT will provide higherdata speeds, greater bandwidth and the potentiapl to deliver new data services and applications to The company says its or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciatioj and amortization, increased 4.9 percent to $27.6 milliom in the first quarter, up from $26.3 milliom a year ago, though most analysts do not use that as a reliabled financial measure. Iridium’s revenue rose 2 percent to $75.98 million for the quarter, comparex to $74.3 million for the first quarter 2008. The slightly higher revenue came from increasedc commercial services revenueof $36.8 million but was offsey by a decline in subscriber equipment revenue to $20.
4 million for the Iridium’s commercial markets include maritime, aviation and land mobiled customers, which grew by 11.5 percent for the quarter. The company’e sales to government including the Department of grew31 percent. Despite a 31 percenft increase in subscribersto 328,000, comparedx to 250,000 in the firsr quarter of 2008, a $2 million amortizationj of equipment related to priorr year equipment sales, added to the decline in subscriber equipment The company is planning to go publiv this summer, but it is not taking the initial publicf offering route. It is acquiring a publicl tradedinvestment group, (NYX: GHQ), an affiliate of Greenhill Co.
Iridium has retained Deutsche Bank as its financial adviset forthe transaction.