Hughes Communications Reports Increased Revenues Of 12 Percent In Second Quarter

Global broadband satellite network solutions and services provider Hughes Communications Inc. reported second-quarter increases in services, hardware sales and revenues, the company announced Aug. 10.

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2007, revenues increased to $234.4 million or up 12.3 percent from the $208.7 million reported for the second quarter of 2006. Likewise, services revenues tallied $129.4 million, up from $107.7 million a year ago; and hardware sales increased to $105.0 million from $100.9 million in the previous year’s quarter. Operating income increased to $20 million from $4 million for a boost of 449 percent.

Hughes Network Systems “once again delivered strong all-round financial performance in the second quarter of 2007, setting new records” for each revenue, operating income and net income, according to Pradman Kaul, Hughes’ president and CEO. He added that “the consumer, [small or medium-sized business], and mobile satellite businesses continued to be the key contributors to our revenue growth,” citing that more than 30,000 new subscribers were activated in the second quarter of 2007. The subscriber base thus grew to 353,000 or an increase of 18 percent over the subscriber base of June 30, 2006.

Hughes’ Spaceway-3 satellite has arrived at Arianespace’s launch facility in Kourou, French Guiana, from where an Ariane 5 heavy launcher is slated on Aug. 14 to deliver the satellite to a geosynchronous transfer orbit.