Intelsat Ltd. reported revenues of $280.4 million in the first quarter of 2006, down from $293.2 million in the 2005 first quarter, the satellite operator announced May 10. Intelsat lost $90.1 million in the most recent quarter, which ended March 31, compared to a loss of $151.7 million in the same period a year ago.

The decline in revenues was due to reductions in channel services, which slipped $11.7 million to $48.6 million in the 2006 first quarter, Intelsat said. Mobile Satellite Services and other revenues fell $7.4 million to $10.7 million in the same period due to reduced use of services by government customers. These declines were partially offset by increases in managed solutions revenue, which increased 27 percent to $31.3 million. Lease revenue was relatively unchanged at $189.8 million in the most recent three months, compared to $190.1 million in the first quarter of 2005.

Total operating expenses fell from $357.3 million in the 2005 first quarter to $249.5 million in the first three months of 2006. The 2005 first quarter included a $69.2 million satellite impairment charge due to the failure of the IS-804 satellite in January 2005.

“Intelsat continues to produce solid results in its core service offerings, such as lease and managed solutions services to network services and telecom customers,” Intelsat CEO Dave McGlade said in a statement. “We have also made meaningful progress in reducing operating expense.”

Intelsat’s backlog remained steady at $3.8 billion, the company said.