Orbimage Inc. reported an increase in total revenues for 2004 to $31 million, up from $9.2 million earned in 2003. The boost in revenues was attributed to the commencement of OrbView-3 operations. But while revenues were up, the company reported a net loss of $24.7 million compared to net earnings of $84.3 million during the same period one year ago. The company attributed the net loss to increased operating costs resulting from the OrbView-3 satellite and from interest expense on the company’s Senior Notes and Senior Subordinated Notes issued on Dec. 31, 2003. The company also noted that net earnings in 2003 included a gain of $116.1 million resulting from the discharge of pre-Chapter 11 indebtedness.

“2004 was an extraordinary year for the company,” Orbimage President and CEO Matthew O’Connell said in a prepared statement. “Since the beginning of the year, we emerged from Chapter 11, commenced full OrbView-3 operations, signed the ClearView contract with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), won the NGA NextView Second Vendor Program satellite procurement and, during 2004 and the first quarter of 2005, raised more than $100 million in additional equity to support our operations and the NextView satellite program.”