[Satellite TODAY Insider 08-12-11] EchoStar satellite subsidiary Hughes Communication helped expand its parent company’s U.S. national consumer subscriber base by 2 percent, which offset subscriber losses from EchoStar’s sister company Dish Network.

   In its latest financial results issued Aug. 10, EchoStar posted $18.5 million in profit during the second quarter, compared with an overall loss of $41.5 million in the same period last year, however, EchoStar revenues fell 3.1 percent to $584.2 million from $603 million. The decline was due to a 29 percent lag in sales of set-top boxes and components to Dish Network.

   Despite reporting a 30 percent increase in its 2011 second-quarter profits, Dish Network lost more 135,000 more subscribers than it added during the period, due to discounted offers from its pay-TV competitors. Hughes brought EchoStar’s total consumer connections to 626,000, backed by a U.S. government subsidy package of $551 per new sign-up. Approximately 464,000 of those subscribers were being carried by Hughes’ Spaceway 3 Ka-Band satellite. 

   Hughes’ Jupiter satellite was designed to handle 10 to 12 times the flow of current transmissions to between 1.5 million and 2 million subscribers. Spaceway 3 will host about 600,000 subscribers after Jupiter is launched next year. Hughes recorded a large order in the second quarter from Boeing for its Mexsat project. The subsidiary’s order activity resulted in a non-consumer order backlog of more than $1.1 billion. EchoStar hopes its new Echo-16 satellite also will drive new business when it is launched next year.

    “Echo-16 is set for next year and Jupiter is hopefully set for the first quarter of next year, but, as you know, there has been some shifts in some of the launch windows, but the satellite production construction is on schedule. In terms of Echo-16 financing, we have about $111 million in financing remaining as of June 30. On Jupiter, we have about $135 million remaining and both of those are inclusive of launch agreements,” EchoStar CEO Michael Dugan said during a press conference.

   Dugan added that his company is starting to utilize and integrate Hughes’ RF business into its own. “I think there is some procurement and some functionality that EchoStar can bring. This can help Hughes procure a rate and provide some additional savings there. We are also looking at the basic combination of facilities and policies and procedures that will bring some efficiency. The real focus is to drive both organizations to higher revenues and better efficiency rather than dramatically reduce expenses.”