Good news in the air: EchoStar back in black
Company adds 350,000 subscribers as revenue jumps 23% in first quarter.
By Laura Dunphy -- Video Business, 5/6/2003
MAY 6 | EchoStar Communications reversed its fortunes and posted positive income for its first quarter, driven by 350,000 new subscribers to its Dish Network satellite TV operation.
For the three months ended March 31, EchoStar's revenue was up 23% from last year to $1.36 billion. Net income reached $58 million for the quarter, up from a $35 million net loss for the period in 2002. (Last year's red ink included charges related to Vivendi Universal's equity investment in the company.)
Including the first quarter subscriber boost, Dish Network ended the period with about 8.53 million customers. Rival DirecTV holds the No. 1 market position with more than 11.3 million subscribers.
How Dish will fare if media giant News Corp.'s bid to purchase DirecTV is approved by regulators remains to be seen, CEO Charlie Ergen said.
"We think the main competitor remains cable," he said. "Clearly, [News Corp. brings] another potential dimension to our industry. They could make it stronger, and the loser in that would be cable. It is unclear whether EchoStar would benefit. It depends on how we manage our company."
Shares of the Littleton, Colo.-based EchoStar advanced about 5% to $32.17 in trading Tuesday.
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