[SatNews] Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) has reported strong financial results for the first quarter of 2011 and updated its outlook for the full-year 2011.

Net income was $8.3 million for the first quarter of 2011, as compared to a net loss of $1.3 million for the first quarter of 2010. Operational EBITDA (“OEBITDA”)(1) for the first quarter was $43.1 million, as compared to $33.5 million for the prior-year period, representing year-over-year growth of 29 percent and an OEBITDA margin(1) of 47 percent. OEBITDA benefited from solid growth in commercial service, government service and equipment revenue. Iridium reported first-quarter total revenue of $91.3 million, which consisted of $61.2 million of service revenue and $30.1 million of equipment and engineering and support revenue. Total revenue grew 12 percent versus the comparable period of 2010, while service revenue increased 12 percent from the year-ago period. Service revenue, which represents primarily recurring revenue from Iridium’s growing subscriber base, was 67 percent of total revenue for the first quarter of 2011. The Company ended the quarter with 447,000 total billable subscribers, which compares to 359,000 for the year-ago period and 427,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2010. Total billable subscribers grew 25 percent year-over-year, driven by ongoing strength in machine-to-machine (“M2M”) data, handheld voice, Netted Iridium and Iridium OpenPort® customers. To read the entire financial report, access this direct infolink