Iridium Reports Q2 2020 Financial Results; Matt Desch Quoted

Iridium has announced its second quarter 2020 financial results on Tuesday, reporting a net loss of $12.4 million, compared to net loss of $18.1 million for the second quarter of 2019. The company’s operational EBITDA for the second quarter was $85.3 million, compared to $85.1 million for the prior-year period. 

"Despite the headwinds caused by the global pandemic, Iridium continues to grow subscribers, service revenue and cash," said Matt Desch, CEO, Iridium and six-time Wash100 Award recipient. "As businesses around the world started to reopen in the second quarter, we've also seen some recovery in activity from our technology and distribution partners."

Iridium reported second-quarter total revenue of $140.2 million. The company’s total revenue decreased 2 percent versus the comparable period of 2019, while service revenue grew by 2 percent. Service revenue was 81 percent of total revenue for the second quarter of 2020.

The company’s total billable subscribers grew 12 percent year-over-year, driven by growth in commercial and government IoT customers.

Iridium’s commercial service revenue was $88.4 million, up 2 percent from last year's comparable period due to an increase in revenue from hosted payload and other data services and broadband services.

Government service revenue was $25.0 million in the second quarter compared to $24.5 million in the prior-year period. Iridium's government business ended the quarter with 139 thousand subscribers, compared to 125 thousand from 2019. 

Government voice and data subscribers increased 9 percent from the year-ago period to 60 thousand as of June 30, 2020. Government IoT data subscribers increased 13 percent year-over-year to 79 thousand. The stats represented 57 percent of total government subscribers, an increase from 56 percent at the end of the prior-year period.

"With each passing month, we are getting increased visibility that allows us to refine our guidance for the year… I think it's notable that despite the economic slowdown, Iridium increased its cash position by more than $50 million in the second quarter, all of which came from operating activities. We expect to continue to generate significant free cash flow in 2020 and beyond," Desch concluded. 

About Iridium Communications Inc.

Iridium® is the only mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe. Iridium enables connections between people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Together with its ecosystem of partner companies, Iridium delivers an innovative and rich portfolio of reliable solutions for markets that require truly global communications. 

In 2019, the company completed a generational upgrade of its satellite network and launched its new specialty broadband service, Iridium Certus. Iridium Communications Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Va., U.S.A., and its common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol IRDM.