Loral’s Revenue Rise to $626-M in 2005

NEW YORK, March 29, 2005/Satnews Daily/ — New orders at Space Systems/Loral coupled with a full year of service on Loral Skynet's new Telstar 18 satellite increased Loral Space & Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:LORL) revenue from $522 million in 2004 to $626 million in 2005.

Loral said the company’s net loss for 2005, excluding a $1.102 billion gain on the discharge of pre-petition obligations and fresh-start adjustments, was $74 million, versus a net loss of $177 million in 2004. Loral's 2005 Adjusted EBITDA was $37 million versus an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $49 million in 2004.

Fourth quarter revenue was $197 million, an increase over $106 million in the fourth quarter of 2004. The company's net loss in the fourth quarter of 2005 was $15 million versus a net loss of $43 million in the fourth quarter of 2004. In the fourth quarter of 2005, Loral's Adjusted EBITDA was $11 million, compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $20 million for the fourth quarter of 2004. Loral ended 2005 with $276 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Loral also disclosed that all undisputed pre-petition claims and chapter 11 expenses have been satisfied with the exception of $54 million to be paid in 2006. Principal amount of long-term debt at year-end 2005 was $126 million.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), the company's satellite manufacturing subsidiary, had 2005 revenues before eliminations of $491 million, compared to $437 million in 2004. Adjusted EBITDA for SS/L in 2005 was $27 million, compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $14 million in 2004.

As a result of four new construction awards in 2005, backlog at SS/L at December 31, 2005 rose to $815 million, including intercompany backlog of $0.3 million. At year-end 2004, SS/L's backlog totaled $483 million, with intercompany backlog of $12 million, Loral said.

In 2005, SS/L delivered five satellites, including iPSTAR, the largest commercial communications satellite ever placed into orbit. In addition to Spainsat, which was launched on March 11, four satellites currently under construction at SS/L are scheduled for launch in 2006.

Loral Skynet, the company's satellite services subsidiary, had 2005 revenues before eliminations of $152 million, up from $141 million (excluding $87 million from a sales-type lease arrangement in 2004) in 2004. The increase, Loral said, was driven primarily by a full year of service from Telstar 18, which entered service in August 2004, and increased utilization across Skynet's fleet. At the end of 2005, utilization on Loral Skynet's satellite fleet was 70 percent compared to 60 percent at the end of 2004.

Adjusted EBITDA for Loral Skynet in 2005 totaled $51 million, compared to 2004's $16 million.

On March 18, 2006, Loral Skynet resumed offering fixed satellite services (FSS) to customers in North America. It had been precluded from offering basic FSS capacity leasing services to customers in North America for two years in accordance with Loral's agreement to sell certain of its North American assets to Intelsat in March 2004.

Loral emerged from bankruptcy on November 21, 2005. Its latest financial statements reflect fresh-start accounting effective October 1, 2005.

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