Iridium Satellite LLC said its total number of subscribers grew 19 percent and revenues grew 26 percent during the first quarter of 2005, compared to the totals reported during the first quarter of 2004. Even so, the company did not reveal what the actual subscriber and revenue numbers were.

“Iridium’s revenue and subscriber growth and strong first quarter profits reflect the results of a vertical market strategy penetrating key markets such as maritime, defense/government services and aviation,” Iridium Chairman and CEO Carmen Lloyd said in a prepared statement. “With continued success of this strategy, we foresee continued profitability. Reaching profitability validates how our customers tap the Iridium satellite constellation, which is quite different from that originally intended. Initially built as a premium-priced voice network, the majority of our new subscribers place great value on our network as a source for lower-cost data services.”