The company’s full-year net losses included a $326.2 million pre-tax non-recurring charge for the early extinguishment of its debt that resulted from its recent refinancing activity. Intelsat said it reduced its operating expenses by $49.3 million in the latest quarter and cut its net interest expenses by $26.6 million. Operating expenses also fell $213.1 million during the full-year period, with a $69.5 million decrease in net interest expenses.

   Simultaneously, the global FSS operator managed to generate modest revenue gains. Intelsat’s 2011 fourth quarter revenues increased 1.3 percent to $652.9 million, with full-year revenues growing 1.7 percent in 2011 to $2.588 billion. Intelsat S.A.’s 2011 EBITDA was $1.9 billion and its adjusted EBITDA was $2 billion, or 78 percent of its total yearly revenue.

Intelsat CEO Dave McGlade said his company’s 2011 performance was driven by aeronautical and maritime broadband and DTH television gains in its government and media businesses, which produced full-year growth of 7 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

   “This growth was countered by regional dynamics in Asia Pacific and Africa, and events, including the May 2011 Intelsat New Dawn satellite anomaly, which limited revenue growth in our network services business,” McGlade said in a statement. “In total, we completed 2011 with record revenue, which grew 2 percent for the year, and we continued to generate strong adjusted EBITDA margin. We had solid new business and renewal momentum as we ended the year, with $10.7 billion in contracted backlog [at the end of 2011], providing good visibility into future cash flow.”

   Intelsat 22 is the operator’s next mission, currently scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome late in the first quarter of 2012 aboard a launch vehicle to be provided by International Launch Services. Sea Launch is expected to place Intelsat’s next satellite, Intelsat 19, into orbit during the second quarter of 2012, with a launch date on May 25.

   The operator reported that its New Dawn joint venture received the total $118 million sum of the insurance claim sought under a partial loss claim filed with its insurers. Intelsat said the proceeds of the claim would be used to pay down the joint venture’s debt in accordance with existing debt agreements.

   The average fill rate on Intelsat transponders was 80 percent at the end of 2011. Intelsat’s on-network revenues, which generally includes revenues from any services delivered via satellite or ground network, increased by $8.9 million, or 1 percent, in the 2011 fourth quarter to $652.9 million.

   The operator’s transponder revenues experienced an aggregate increase of $20.9 million during the quarter, due to a $15.4 million boost in capacity sold for media customers in the Latin America and Caribbean region and the North America region. Intelsat also reported a $3.7 million increase in revenue from Intelsat General capacity sales. On-network transponder service revenues increased by a net $1.8 million related to capacity used by network services customers, primarily in Latin America.

   Revenue from Intelsat managed services, however, decreased $8.9 million, primarily due to a $5.4 million loss on network services customers not renewing contracts for international Internet trunking and private line solutions largely in the Africa, Middle East and the Asia-Pacific regions. Intelsat’s channel revenues also decreased $3.5 million in the quarter due to the migration of international point-to-point satellite traffic to fiber optic cables.

  McGlade said he expects that these migration trends would continue in the foreseeable future. “In 2012 we will take major steps in bringing new and refreshed capacity to our network, including the planned launches of five satellites that are targeted to support higher-demand applications in growing regions,” said McGlade. “Our fleet investment program is focused on building network infrastructure that delivers the advanced technologies and high-bandwidth that will support our customers as they enhance their competitiveness and enter new markets.”

   Separately, Intelsat’s former in-orbit servicing vehicle partner MDA announced it would await a decision on a contract bid to the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) before deciding whether to shelve its work on the project.

   In January, Intelsat and MDA terminated the $280 million in-orbit satellite life extension service agreement that was initially signed by the two companies in March 2011. The deal would have employed MDA’s space-based Space Infrastructure Servicing (SIS) vehicle to refuel, reposition or maintain commercial and government satellites. At the time it was announced, MDA and Intelsat said the companies would finalize specifications and other requirements before both parties authorize the build phase of the program. The first refueling mission was scheduled for 2015, or 3.5 years after the manufacturing phase began.