[Satellite Today 05-04-09] EMS Technologies reported a net loss of $3 million in the 2009 first quarter, compared with net income of $4.2 million in the first quarter of 2008, the company announced May 1.
    EMS attributed the loss to charges related to the acquisition of Satamatics.
    Despite the loss, the company reported strong sales and space segment performances. EMS’s quarterly sales increased 22 percent to $92.3 million from 2008. The satellite communications segment accounted for about half of EMS’s consolidated revenues in the quarter and generated $4.3 million of operating income.
    “During the first quarter, EMS benefited from momentum in our in-flight connectivity markets and very strong revenues in our defense business. As a result, both the Communications and Tracking and the Defense and Space segments achieved record profits for the first quarter. Our LXE mobile logistics business struggled with the increasingly challenging economic conditions affecting auto-identification markets worldwide, and we took further actions to lower our cost base and improve our efficiency,” Paul Domorski, president and CEO of EMS, said in a statement.