Hughes Electronics [NYSE: GMH] outperformed the expectations of key Wall Street analysts, according to it 2003 first-quarter results released Monday.

Hughes, the parent company of DirecTV, Hughes Network Systems and PanAmSat [Nasdaq: SPOT], boosted its first-quarter revenues by 10 percent to $2.2 billion, up from $2 billion for the January-March period last year. A turnaround was achieved in operating profits that reached $41.9 million during quarter, compared with an operating loss of $87.7 million a year ago. It marked the first quarterly operating profit for Hughes during the past four years, said Hughes President and CEO Jack Shaw. Shaw credited DirecTV for driving the vastly improved results.

The company offers an “improving growth story” and attractive valuation, according to Karim Zia, a satellite and cable analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities. Likewise, Benjamin Swinburne, the lead satellite analyst at Morgan Stanley, praised Hughes for achieving “strong” results across all business units.

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