WRSP

Worldspace Satellite Radio posted higher revenues in its 2006 second quarter, but the company’s subscriber additions plummeted in comparison to the first three months of the year, the company announced Aug. 9.

Worldspace added a little more than 6,500 subscribers in the 2006 second quarter, which closed June 30, bringing its total subscriber base to nearly 160,000. In the first three months of 2006, the satellite radio provider added more than 38,000 subscribers to bring its total number of subscribers to more than 153,000 at the end of March.

In India, where Worldspace has been concentrating its businesses expansion efforts for more than a year, the company added nearly 7,800 subscribers in the 2006 second quarter, compared to additions of more than 74,500 subscribers in the 2006 first quarter. Worldspace ended June with nearly 119,500 subscribers in India.

"Gross subscriber adds in our primary target market of India were negatively affected by delays in the launching of a new marketing campaign centered around our new brand ambassador until July, delays in opening more experiential locations, changes in sale channel incentives and ineffective communication of pricing plan changes," Noah Samara, Worldspace’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "These issues negatively affecting the second quarter subscriber counts have been identified and are being addressed."

Worldspace lost $36.7 million in the 2006 second quarter on revenues of $3.8 million. In the same period in 2005, the company lost $22 million on revenues of $22 million. Subscriber acquisition costs held steady at $41 when compared to the 2006 first quarter, while cost per gross addition fell from $135 in the first three months of 2006 to $131 in the second quarter.

The results pushed Worldspace’s stock to a 52-week low of $2.26 at the close of the market Aug. 10.

LORL

Loral Space & Communications Inc. posted a 41 percent increase in revenues in the 2006 second quarter to $192.9 million, driven by satellite construction contracts, the company announced Aug. 7. In the 2005 second quarter, Loral reported revenues of $136.8 million.

Loral posted a net loss grew of $11.4 million in the 2006 second quarter, which closed June 30, up from a loss of $7.4 million in the the same period a year ago. The 2005 second quarter included an $11.4 million gain from the sale of discontinued operations.

Loral’s satellite manufacturing unit, Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), posted revenues of $163.3 million in the 2006 second quarter, up 53 percent from revenues of $106.6 million in the 2005 second quarter. SS/L’s operating profit was $11.8 million in the most recent quarter, up from $6.2 million in the same period a year ago, driven primarily by increased sales from satellite construction contracts signed in 2005 and 2006.

SS/L booked three new satellite construction contracts during the quarter, bringing its backlog to $1.1 billion at the end of June.

Loral Skynet, the satellite services unit, had revenues of $37.9 million in the 2005 second quarter, up only slightly from revenues of $37.5 million in the same period in 2005. Operating earnings were $14.1 million in the most recent period, up from $11.8 million in the 2005 second quarter.

Utilization on Loral Skynet’s satellite fleet at the end of the second quarter was 75 percent, compared to 66 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2005. The backlog was $426 million at the end of June, down from $453 million at the end of 2005.

"Loral’s progress continues to be reflected in our improved results, notably at our satellite manufacturing business, which is experiencing a significant increase in business," Michael Targoff, Loral’s CEO, said in a statement. "… Our fixed satellite services business is a long-term driver of value at the company and Loral Skynet’s steady and predictable results form a solid foundation as we explore further strategic and growth opportunities in the industry."

SES

SES Global reported a profit of 215.6 million euros in the first half of 2006, up from a profit of 167.7 million euros in the first six months of 2005, the company announced Aug. 7. Sales improved 17 percent throughout the same period from 609.2 million euros in 2005 to 710.5 million euros in 2006.

SES attributed the growth to satellite capacity demand, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and growth in services. The acquisition of New Skies, was completed March 30, also contributed to the gains, accounting for revenues of 49.3 million in the second quarter.

"SES New Skies’ performance is ahead of plan and progress in the integration makes us confident that we should achieve the synergy target," Romain Bausch, president and CEO of SES, said in a statement. "In addition, we further increased our shareholding in ND Satcom to 100 percent, strengthening our services capabilities in particular in the government segment.

"We also continued to grow organically our core satellite infrastructure business, as well as our services activities, at a high single-digit rate. This growth came from increased demand for satellite capacity and services in the media, enterprise and government segments in our main markets of Europe and North America."

SES Global’s backlog stood at 6.8 billion euros at the end of June, up from a backlog of 6.5 billion euros at the end of December.

NNDS

NDS, a supplier of middleware and conditional access solutions to satellite operators, has seen a nearly 10 percent increase in overall revenues for the year ended June 30, the company announced. For the 12 month period, NDS reported overall revenues of more than $600 million and a 30 percent increase in profits to nearly $101 million.

Iridium

Iridium Satellite LLC completed a $210 million debt offering, the company announced Aug. 6. Iridium will use net proceeds of the credit facilities to repay the company’s existing credit facilities, provide cash collateral for a letter of credit, return capital to equity investors and for general corporate purposes.

Lehman Brothers Inc. and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding Inc. acted as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners of the credit facility. "I am pleased with the reception Iridium has received from the financial community," Eric Morrison, Iridium’s CFO, said in a statement. "We look forward to building relationships with the first rate group of lenders that participated in this offering."