Loral Space & Communications Inc. lost $74 million in 2005, excluding a gain related to its bankruptcy proceedings, compared to a loss of $177 million in 2004, the company announced March 28. Loral, which emerged from bankruptcy Nov. 21, recognized a $1.1 billion gain in 2005 due to the elimination of pre-bankruptcy obligations, as well as fresh-start accounting adjustments that became effective Oct. 1, the company said.

Revenues climbed from $522 million in 2004 to $626 million in 2005, which the company attributed to new orders at satellite manufacturer Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) along with a full year of service from the Telstar 18 satellite operated by Fixed Satellite Services unit Loral Skynet.

SS/L reported 2005 revenues of $491 million, compared to $437 million in 2004, as the unit received four satellite manufacturing contracts during the year. Backlog at SS/L stood at $815 million at the end of 2005, compared to $483 million at the end of 2004.

Skynet had 2005 revenues of $152 million, up from $141 million in 2004. The increase was driven primarily by Telstar 18, which entered service in August 2004, and increased utilization across Skynet’s fleet, Loral said. At the end of 2005, utilization was 70 percent, compared to 60 percent at the end of 2004.

Skynet’s backlog was $453 million at the end of 2005, down from $543 million at the end of 2004. Skynet was prohibited from offering services in North America under an agreement to sell part of its satellite fleet to Intelsat in March 2004. The unit re-entered the market March 18.