[Satellite TODAY 11-08-10] Loral Space & Communications’ 2010 third quarter net income slipped to $72 million, down from $108 million in the third quarter of 2009 due to lower foreign exchange gains for Canadian operator Telesat, Loral announced Nov. 5.
     For the first nine months of 2010, net income was $82 million, compared to $172 million for the first nine months of 2009. Loral’s combined segment revenues and adjusted EBITDA for the quarter were $527 million and $207 million, respectively, which were 24 percent and 43 percent improvements over the previous year.
     Loral said its cash position continues to be strong, growing $32 million in the previous three months to $174 million at the end of September. There were no drawings against the available $95 million revolving credit facility at Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). 
    “Both Telesat and SS/L have focused on operating efficiencies and growth strategies over the past several years. The effect has been continued strong bookings and margin improvement resulting in record performance that even exceeded our plans,” Loral CEO Michael Targoff said in a statement.
    SS/L reported revenue before eliminations of $325 million during the quarter —up 28 percent from the $254 million reported in the third quarter of 2009. SS/L received its fifth large communications satellite order for the year during the quarter and was awarded an additional contract just after the quarter’s end to bring the total awards to date for the year to six. SS/L also completed a satellite for Sirius XM Radio, which was  launched in October and has performed post-launch maneuvers according to plan.
   SS/L’s backlog stood at $1.733 billion at the end of September.