15% short here. Gonna get squeezed today!
MCLEAN, Va., May 1, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) ("Iridium") today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2014 and affirmed its full-year 2014 and long-range outlook. Net income was $16.5 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2014, as compared to $14.9 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2013. Operational EBITDA ("OEBITDA")(1) for the first quarter was $51.6 million, as compared to $46.8 million for the prior-year period, representing a year-over-year increase of 10 percent and an OEBITDA margin(1) of 53 percent. OEBITDA grew largely due to higher service revenue.
Iridium reported first-quarter total revenue of $98.0 million, which consisted of $73.4 million of service revenue and $24.6 million of equipment, engineering and support revenue. Total revenue increased 10 percent versus the comparable period of 2013, while service revenue grew 7 percent from the year-ago period. Service revenue, which represents primarily recurring revenue from Iridium's growing subscriber base, was 75 percent of total revenue for the first quarter of 2014.
The Company ended the quarter with 674,000 total billable subscribers, which compares to 621,000 for the year-ago period and is up from 664,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2013. Total billable subscribers grew 9 percent year-over-year, driven by strength in machine-to-machine ("M2M") and commercial voice customers.
"We affirmed our 2014 and long-range outlook across the board today, and also reported our best all-around quarter in nearly two years," said Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium. "Total service revenue grew 7 percent year-over-year with contributions from many of our key sectors, while our equipment business regained its footing, posting a 16 percent revenue gain on higher overall unit sales. We're encouraged by our solid start to 2014, and are poised to build on this momentum with exciting new products like Iridium GO!TM, by capitalizing on opportunities in our maritime business, and further penetrating the heavy equipment OEM segment in the M2M market."
