Iridium Satellite Announce 2004 Revenue & Subscriber Growth
Melbourne, February 23, 2005
Quadrant Iridium Ltd (ASX: QAD) today announces that its subsidiary Iridium Satellite LLC, the global supplier of mobile satellite communication services, had substantial growth in both revenue and subscriber numbers for the 2004 year.
The following are highlights of the announcement from Iridium
Satellite LLC:
• 2004 EBITDA was positive, a change of USD$20m over 2003;
• Revenue growth for the year (Jan04 – Dec04) of 23.2% over previous year;
• Subscriber numbers have increase by 22.5% over prior year to in excess of 114,000;
• Data service usage grew 49% over prior year;
• Further penetration into the aviation and maritime market with over 2,500 aircraft and 400 ships now equipped with Iridium technology, double that of 2003; and
• The U.S. Department of Defense has exercised it option to
extend its usage of the Iridium network.
Please refer to the attached announcement for further details.
Iridium Announces 2004 Revenue and Subscriber Growth
Subscribers and Revenue Up 23% Over Prior Year;
Data Applications Now The Fastest-Growing Segment;
Company Has 114,000+ Subscribers; New Offerings for 2005
BETHESDA, MD -- February 23, 2005 -- Iridium Satellite LLC, the global supplier of
mobile satellite communication services, today said that it had more than 114,000
subscribers as of December 31, 2004, a 22.5% increase over its total number of
subscribers at the end of 2003.
The company’s revenue for the full-year 2004 increased by 23.2% over total revenue for the prior year.
“In 2004, Iridium’s subscriber base and revenue grew solidly in the double-digits,” said Iridium Satellite Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Carmen Lloyd. “We also ended 2004 with positive EBITDA (Earnings Before Income Taxes Depreciation and Amortization) versus negative EBITDA in 2003 – a positive change of more than $20 million.”
Lloyd said, “These results reflect the success of our vertical market strategy, which places particular emphasis on our three largest segments: maritime, aviation and defense/government. Of particular importance, demand for Iridium’s data services grew sharply. In fact, in 2004, our data usage grew 49% over 2003.”
Lloyd added, “We are extremely pleased with the pace of growth, the level of subscribers and the financial condition of the company. We are in a unique position as the only company providing global coverage including both polar caps. Our network is proving to a valuable asset for a broad range of both conventional, as well as new, voice and data applications.”
2004 Accomplishments
Iridium cited the following highlights in 2004:
In the general aviation market, the company surpassed a milestone in October of 2,500
aircraft using Iridium-based equipment – roughly double the number equipped in 2003.
At the 2004 National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) Conference, industry
experts publicly estimated that approximately half of all satellite communications equipped business and general aviation aircraft now rely on Iridium-based communications in the cockpit, the cabin and at headquarters.
In the commercial airline market, Aloha Airlines equipped three of its Boeing 737-200
aircraft and nine 737-700 aircraft with Iridium-based data collection and transmission
systems. Canadian North Airlines installed similar systems on its fleet of Boeing 737
cargo/passenger aircraft. Iridium provides near-real-time data to both airlines for fleet
management.
In the maritime industry, Iridium announced four significant agreements in 2004 resulting in more than 300 ships being equipped with Iridium satellite terminals. Columbia Shipmanagement began equipping more than 100 ships with Iridium satellite terminals to comply with SSAS (Ship Security Alert System) carriage requirements and reduce communications costs. In a similar agreement, Univan Ship Management is equipping its fleet with Iridium satellite systems for lower-cost, ship-to-shore communications. Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group selected Iridium satellite telephone systems for its entire fleet of chemical and parcel tankers, and installed Iridium satellite terminals at its headquarters in Houston and Rotterdam for lower cost communications with ships at sea. EastMed fitted its fleet of 34 tankers and bulkers with Iridium SSAS terminals.
In the defense/government sector, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) exercised an option to extend its contract for airtime on the Iridium network for mobile voice, data and paging services. The U.S. government relies on the Iridium network for many applications, including command and control, logistics and tracking systems, battlefield and weather condition data transmission, remote unattended sensor programs and manpack soldier systems.
2005 – A Look Ahead
Iridium highlighted the following initiatives that are underway for 2005:
The company will be completing the development of a new netted push-to-talk
communications architecture, which allows one user to talk (or transmit data) to many
users simultaneously. This architecture will provide an efficient broadcast service within
a designated region for military, homeland security and commercial applications
requiring netted voice and data communications. Iridium expects to make this innovative
service available in the fourth quarter of 2005.
In the second half of 2005, Iridium will launch a new lower cost data modem for shortburst data communications. This data module will leverage the 100% global coverage of the Iridium network and will feature low latency, two-way communications, broadcast and high throughput data capabilities.
“In addition to the netted push-to-talk communications architecture and lower cost data module introductions planned for 2005, we are exploring a number of new uses for our network,” said Lloyd. “We are looking at potential uses in connection with Wi-Fi systems, Bluetooth and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags, as well as other new wireless technologies. We also envision strong growth in the aviation sector with the recent U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rulings allowing for Pico cells. The unique asset we have in the Iridium network will allow us to fully leverage that opportunity.”
Lloyd concluded, “Our partners are increasingly approaching us with unique data applications. These are typically applications that require transmission of small to midsize amounts of data through mobile, portable equipment, on a global basis. We are constantly evaluating the market opportunity for these applications, and we’ve got a competitive advantage in any situation where the emphasis is on truly global, mobile and portable lower cost communications.”
About Iridium Satellite
Iridium Satellite LLC (www.iridium.com) is the only provider of truly global satellite
voice and data solutions with complete coverage of the earth (including oceans, airways
and Polar Regions). Iridium delivers essential communications services to and from
remote areas where no other form of communication is available. Iridium makes this
possible through its constellation of 66 low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellites. The Iridium service is ideally suited for industries such as maritime, aviation, government/military, emergency/humanitarian services, mining, forestry, oil and gas, and heavy construction. Iridium provides service to the U.S. Department of Defense, and sells equipment and services through 44 service providers. In addition, 28 value-added manufacturers build Iridium-based products, and 22 value-added resellers build and sell Iridium-based solutions.
QAD
quadrant iridium limited
