Viasat’s headquarters in Carlsbad, California. Photo: Viasat

Viasat reported a slight dip in revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 as revenue declines in fixed satellite services and maritime offset the company’s growth in aviation, government services, and tactical networking.

The company also set a record for new contract awards with $1.3 billion in awards during the quarter, led by Defense and Advanced Technologies segment and aviation connectivity. 

Viasat reported $1.1 billion of revenue in Q2 on Nov. 6, a decrease of 1% year-over-year, excluding one-time revenue from last year from a litigation settlement. 

Net loss of $138 million was an improvement over the net loss of $767 million a year ago, which CFO Gary Chase said was due to the impairment charge on the company’s satellite program. Adjusted EBITDA was $375 million, a decline of 6% year-over-year.

Chase told investors on Wednesday that Viasat collected approximately $120 million of satellite insurance proceeds during the second quarter. The company has received more than 90% of the $770 million of insurance claims anticipated by the end of this fiscal year. 

Under the leadership of new CFO Chase, Viasat is evaluating additional financial and capital structure perspectives “to realize the value embedded in our business portfolio,” Dankberg said. 

In terms of the upcoming second and third ViaSat-3 satellites, ViaSat-3 F2 will be launched over the Americas and is expected to enter service in late 2025. ViaSat-3 F3 will be launched over the Asia-Pacific region and is expected to enter service in mid- to late-2025. 

Viasat is also in “advanced discussions” with Canadian operator Telesat to buy Ka-band Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) capacity on the upcoming Lightspeed constellation to augment Viasat’s own fleet, CEO Mark Dankberg told investors.  

Broadband Headwinds, Defense Opportunity 

The expected decline in fixed broadband remains Viasat’s “single biggest headwind,” Dankberg told investors. However, he said that decline is slowing down. 

Communication Services revenue declined 2.5% year-over-year to $826 million.

Within the segment, Fixed Services (broadband) experienced the most severe decline, down 25% year-over-year to $185 million. U.S. fixed broadband ended the quarter with approximately 228,000 subscribers and $115 average revenue per user.

Maritime service revenue also decreased 7% year-over-year to $121 million. 

Viasat president Guru Gowrappan said “third-party companion offerings” put incremental ARPU pressure on flat Fleet Xpress vessel count during the quarter. Viasat is refining its channel strategy for indirect sales. SpaceX’s Starlink services have had a rapid uptake in this market. 

Viasat is optimistic on the prospects for Inmarsat Maritime’s new NexusWave hybrid connectivity solution with LEO, and Gowrappan said there is already an order pipeline of 3,500 vessels. He expects NexusWave to bring a return to net vessel growth and an ARPU expansion in maritime. 

Aviation was a bright spot in Communication Services revenue and accounts for the greatest portion of revenue in this segment. Aviation revenue increased 17% year-over-year to $262 million. Commercial and business aviation ended the quarter with approximately 3,820 and 1,920 aircraft in service, respectively –  up about 14% year-over-year.

Dankberg addressed the recent Starlink United Airlines win, and said Viasat has not removed United aircraft from its previous order backlog. Viasat is one of four providers that currently provide service to United. Dankberg said Viasat can’t speak to how United will complete the Starlink rollout. 

“We will bake those into our forecast, our understanding of them,” Dankberg said. “We are not going to break them out separately, but the forecast that we give for airplane count will reflect not just United, but all of our airline customers’ plans.”

Revenue in the Defense and Advanced Technologies revenue was $296 million, up 4% year-over-year. Growth in this segment was primarily driven by tactical networking and IP licensing revenue. 

The company said the TrellisWare software within the tactical networking business line, benefited by a larger bulk order for product upgrade licenses across already deployed U.S. and allied forces radios.