DISH

Echostar Communications Corp.‘s first quarter profit was nearly cut in half, hampered in part by a charge related to a lawsuit from Tivo Inc. over digital video recorder technology, Echostar announced May 11.

Echostar, which operates the Dish Network, reported net income of $147 million for the quarter ended March 31, down from a profit of $318 million in the same period in 2005, which was boosted by a $134 million insurance gain. Earnings in the first quarter of 2006 were cut by a $74 million charge related to the technology patent case.

In February, a jury in Texas ruled that Echostar infringed on a Tivo patent for digital video recording devices and awarded Tivo more than $73 million to cover lost profits and royalties. Tivo has said it will seek a permanent injunction against Echostar over the technology, while an Echostar countersuit is scheduled to begin in February 2007.

Echostar’s revenue improved 13 percent, from $2 billion in the first quarter of 2005 to $2.3 billion in the most recent three months. Dish added about 225,000 net new subscribers during the first quarter of 2006, ending the quarter with nearly 12.3 million subscribers.

Operating expenses rose from $1.7 billion a year ago to $2 billion in the first quarter of 2006.

PA

Panamsat Holding Corp. reported revenues of $213.2 million in the first quarter of 2006, up 2 percent from revenues of $208.8 million in the same period in 2005, the company announced May 11.

Net income was $27.8 million in the most recent three months, up from $1.1 million in the same period a year ago. Earnings in the first quarter of 2006 included a $13.2 million gain on an interest rate swap, while the 2005 first quarter profits were hurt by a $10.4 million expense in sponsor management fees.

Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) revenues improved by $6.2 million to $200.1 million in the first quarter of 2006, primarily due to higher video services revenues of $4.5 million, higher government services revenues of $1.2 million and higher consulting/technical services revenues of $1 million. The increase in video services revenues was primarily due to higher program distribution and direct-to-home services revenues of about $2.8 million and higher occasional use services revenues of $2.2 million due to the 2006 Winter Olympics.

FSS income from operations for the first quarter of 2006 increased by $32.8 million from $69.5 million for the same period in 2005.

Government Services (G2) revenues were $19.8 million for the three months ended March 31, down from $20.4 million a year ago, which included revenues related to the construction of an L-band payload on Galaxy 15. Revenues from managed network services increased by $2 million, and revenues from the lease of additional capacity increased by $500,000.

These increases were substantially offset by a decrease in sales of equipment and other non-satellite products of $2.3 million.

G2 reported operating income of $3.3 million in the first quarter of 2006, compared to $3 million a year ago.

Intelsat Ltd., which is on track to acquire Panamsat before the end of the third quarter, 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.

GILT

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. reported a profit of $1.2 million on revenues of $58.6 million in the 2006 first quarter, Gilat announced May 10. In the first quarter of 2005, the VSAT provider lost $1.9 million on revenues of $53 million.

“The first quarter was a strong quarter, with improvements across all key financial indicators and we remain on track in achieving our 2006 management financial objectives,” Amiram Levinberg, Gilat’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Within our main markets of enterprise, government and rural communications, we have shown an increase in deals for larger networks and also maintain a steady flow of deals addressing smaller networks. We are also selling higher value solutions to our customers.”

LORL

Loral Space & Communications Inc. cuts its net loss to $15.8 million in the first quarter of 2006, as revenues improved 30 percent to $172 million, the company announced May 9. In the first quarter of 2005, Loral lost $26.2 million on revenues of $132.4 million.

The revenue gains were driven primarily by increased sales from the Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) satellite manufacturing division, which reported revenues of $139.3 million in the 2006 first quarter, compared to revenues of $99.6 million in the same period a year ago. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved from $4.2 million in the first quarter of 2005 to $5.8 million in the most recent three months due to the increased sales.

Loral’s satellite services unit, Skynet, posted revenues of $36.2 million in the 2006 first quarter, up slightly from revenue of $35.9 million in the 2005 first quarter. Increased revenues from transponder leasing and network services were offset by a reduction in revenue from the sale of Loral Skynet’s business television service and reduced revenues from professional services, the company said.

Skynet’s EBITDA was $12.6 million in the first quarter of 2006, compared to $9.1 million in the first quarter of 2005. Utilization on Skynet’s satellite fleet at the end of the first quarter was 74 percent, up from 65 percent at the end of the same period in 2005.

“The forward momentum sustained since our emergence from bankruptcy last year has resulted in a very solid performance for Loral in the first quarter,” Michael Targoff, Loral’s CEO, said in a statement.

Loral’s net funded backlog at the end was $1.1 billion as of March 31, the company said. SS/L’s backlog was $830 million, up slightly from $815 million at the end of 2005, while Skynet had a backlog of $433 million, down from $453 million at the end of 2005.

SESG.PA

SES Global reported revenues of 329 million euros ($418.8 million) in the first quarter of 2006, up 13 percent from revenues of 290 million euros ($369.2 million) in the first quarter of 2005, the company announced May 8. Profit jumped 41 percent, from 84 million euros ($106.9 million) in the first three months of 2005 to 118 million euros ($150.2 million) in the first quarter of 2006, which ended March 31.

SES Global credited the revenue improvements to organic growth and a favorable exchange rate for the U.S. dollar. Earnings growth was due to stronger operating results and an 18.8 million euros ($23.7 million) gain on the disposal of a reinsurance subsidiary.

“The first quarter results are a reflection of solid development across the board, in Europe, in the [United States] and also in Africa,” Romain Bausch, president & CEO of SES Global, said in a statement. “The high utilization rates in key markets further validate our strategy and additional growth opportunities arise from this strong momentum.”

Utilization rates stood at 81 percent in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, with 284 commercially available transponders in use. Europe stood at 89 percent, with 217 of 243 transponders in use, and 68 percent in the Americas, as 339 of 501 available transponders were in use, SES Global reported.

SES Global completed its acquisition of New Skies Satellites March 30, which was the driver behind a growth in net debt to 2.8 billion euros at the end of the 2006 first quarter, up from 2.1 billion euros Dec. 31.

NWS

News Corp. reported third quarter earnings of $820 million, more than double the same period a year ago, as a strong performance from the company’s satellite TV operations around the globe offset weaker performance in publishing businesses, the company announced. Revenue improved 2.5 percent to $6.2 billion.

Direct Broadcast Satellite Television unit, Sky Italia, generated operating income of $69 million in the quarter, which ended March 31, rebounding from an operating loss of $21 million a year ago. Revenues grew 17 percent, primarily due to the addition of 472,000 net new subscribers throughout the past 12 months. The subscriber base grew to more than 3.7 million subscribers, News Corp. said. The related revenue growth was partially offset by increased programming costs associated with the larger subscriber base, as well as higher spending primarily due to the broadcast of additional movie titles and new entertainment channels on the basic programming tier.

“We are obviously pleased with the 14 percent operating income growth and two-fold increase in net income we delivered this quarter,” Rupert Murdoch, News Corp.’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Our growth was as diverse as it was deep: continued subscriber expansion at Sky Italia; ratings success at our broadcast network; sustained momentum across our array of cable channels; and a dramatic increase in equity earnings from DirecTV.

Third quarter net earnings from affiliates were $264 million versus $91 million in the same period a year ago. The $173 million improvement was primarily due to an increased contribution from The DirecTV Group, which is 36.8 percent owned by News Corp., of $61 million on subscriber growth and increased pricing.

BSkyB, which is 37.9 percent owned by News Corp., contributed $100 million to News Corp. during the quarter, down slightly from $107 million in the 2005 third quarter.

The results also included a pre-tax gain of $206 million on the previously announced sale of News Corp’s investment in Innova, a Mexican direct-to-home platform, to DirecTV for $285 million, as well as a favorable impact from foreign currency fluctuations at Sky Brasil, which is 49.7 percent owned by News Corp.