[Satellite TODAY 11-10-09] Intelsat saw its 2009 third quarter revenues increase $19.4 million to $617.9 million, up from $598.5 million in 2008, the operator announced in its financial results, released Nov. 9.
    Intelsat transponder service revenues increased $25.7 million, due primarily to a $19.4 million increase in revenue from network services customers and renewals in the Latin American, Caribbean, European, African and Middle East regions. The company’s managed services business increased its revenues $3.9 million due to business and service expansion in trunking, private line and GXS broadband solutions in Africa and the Middle East. Intelsat General reported a $13.1 million increase in revenues resulting from new services and strong renewals sold primarily to North American customers.
    The company saw its broadcast channel and mobile satellite service revenues decrease $3.1 million and $7.1 million, respectively, due to continued declines from the migration of point-to-point satellite traffic to transoceanic fiber optic cables and decreased sales of professional and technical services performed for satellite operators and third-party usage-based mobile services. The company said it expects these trends to continue.
     Intelsat’s loss on derivative financial instruments increased by $2.2 million in the third quarter to $38.8 million compared to 2008.  The company’s overall net loss for the quarter was $94.3 million, bringing its 2009 net loss total to $684.7 for the first three quarters.
     “Our third quarter financial performance reflects continuing solid demand for services across our global satellite fleet and ground network as well as the success of our capacity management program. By executing on this strategic objective, we have boosted our capacity utilization to 85 percent and improved our returns on our network investments.  We will opportunistically supplement our capacity with modest investments in order to support customer growth and to increase the resilience of our fleet,” Intelsat CEO Dave McGlade said in a statement.