Iridium Affirms 2015 and Long-Range Outlook
McLean, Va., April 30, 2015--Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2015 and affirmed its full-year 2015 and long-range outlook. Net income was US$ 21.0 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2015, as compared to US$ 16.5 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2014.
Operational EBITDA for the first quarter was US$ 52.5 million, as compared to US$ 51.6 million for the prior-year period, representing a year-over-year increase of 2 percent and an OEBITDA margin of 54 percent. OEBITDA grew largely due to higher government service revenue and lower product warranty costs.
Iridium reported first-quarter total revenue of US$ 97.0 million, which consisted of US$ 75.4 million of service revenue and US$ 21.6 million of equipment, engineering and support revenue. Total revenue declined one percent versus the comparable period of 2014, while service revenue grew 3 percent from the year-ago period. Service revenue, which represents primarily recurring revenue from Iridium's growing subscriber base, was 78 percent of total revenue for the first quarter of 2015.
The company ended the quarter with 748,000 total billable subscribers, which compares to 674,000 for the year-ago period and is up from 739,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2014. Total billable subscribers grew 11 percent year-over-year, driven by strength in machine-to-machine ("M2M") customers.
"We affirmed our 2015 and long-range guidance across the board today and kicked off the year with solid growth in our government and M2M lines of business," said Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium. "We're excited that the Iridium NEXT era is rapidly approaching, with a flurry of satellite testing activity underway as we prepare for the first scheduled launch in October. SpaceX is now 18 for 18 with their Falcon 9 missions and we look forward to starting our primary launch campaign with them in early 2016."
Desch continued, "Our Aireon joint venture continues to build momentum, having recently signed agreements to collaborate on the potential deployment of space-based global aviation monitoring with the air traffic management agency of India and the Blue Med Functional Airspace Block, a cooperative of Air Navigation Service Providers that control the airspace over the Mediterranean. These agreements lay the groundwork for future data services contracts and expand the planned deployment of the AireonSM service in Asia and Europe. With each milestone that Aireon passes, it confirms our belief that it will become the global standard for space-based air traffic surveillance."
Desch concluded, "When thinking about how our 2015 financial results shape up, we see gains in our M2M, maritime and aviation businesses, but still expect our voice market to be pressured by a strong dollar. The step-up in our fixed-price airtime contract with the U.S. government will also boost service revenue, as will contributions from new products. Overall, we have excellent long-term growth prospects and continue to build to 2018 and the transformational change we expect in our cash flow profile."
Related Articles:
- 4% Wholesale Service Revenues Growth for MSS Operators in a Challenging Market
- Global Mobile Satellite Services Market to Reach US$ 3.2 Billion by 2020
- Iridium Report Net Income of US$ 23 million in 4Q 2014
