Loral Space & Communications Inc. cuts its net loss to $15.8 million in the first quarter of 2006, as revenues improved 30 percent to $172 million, the company announced May 9. In the first quarter of 2005, Loral lost $26.2 million on revenues of $132.4 million.

The revenue gains were driven primarily by increased sales from the Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) satellite manufacturing division, which reported revenues of $139.3 million in the 2006 first quarter, compared to revenues of $99.6 million in the same period a year ago. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved from $4.2 million in the first quarter of 2005 to $5.8 million in the most recent three months due to the increased sales.

Loral’s satellite services unit, Skynet, posted revenues of $36.2 million in the 2006 first quarter, up slightly from revenue of $35.9 million in the 2005 first quarter. Increased revenues from transponder leasing and network services were offset by a reduction in revenue from the sale of Loral Skynet’s business television service and reduced revenues from professional services, the company said.

Skynet’s EBITDA was $12.6 million in the first quarter of 2006, compared to $9.1 million in the first quarter of 2005. Utilization on Skynet’s satellite fleet at the end of the first quarter was 74 percent, up from 65 percent at the end of the same period in 2005.

“The forward momentum sustained since our emergence from bankruptcy last year has resulted in a very solid performance for Loral in the first quarter,” Michael Targoff, Loral’s CEO, said in a statement.

Loral’s net funded backlog at the end was $1.1 billion as of March 31, the company said. SS/L’s backlog was $830 million, up slightly from $815 million at the end of 2005, while Skynet had a backlog of $433 million, down from $453 million at the end of 2005.