EchoStar Posts $35.1M Net For Q3

LITTLETON, COLO.— EchoStar Communications, parent of Dish Network, moved into the black during the third quarter with $35.1 million in net income.

That performance for the period ending Sept. 30 compares with a loss for the year-ago period of $167.9 million. The company had posted $174 million in charges during the third quarter of 2002.

According to EchoStar's 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, total company revenue soared in the third quarter, hitting $1.5 billion, up 18.8 percent from the $1.2 billion recorded in the same three months a year ago. The company said a larger number of Dish Network subscribers during the period, as well as additional monthly revenue per subscriber, accounted for the quarterly revenue gain.

Dish Network added about 285,000 net new subscribers in the three months, ending Sept. 30, compared with about 320,000 net new subscribers added during the same period in 2002. As of the end of September, Dish reported about 9.1 million subscribers, up from about 7.8 million year over year, an increase of about 16.8 percent.

Monthly average revenue per subscriber was about $50.79 during the third quarter, compared with about $49.04 in the same three months in 2002. The increase was attributed to price increases last March and an increase in the number of subscribers with multiple set-top boxes, partially offset by an increase in the amount of free and discounted programming offered in the third quarter.

Breaking out Dish subscription television services revenue, the total reached $1.4 billion in the third quarter, a 21.7 percent increase over the $1.1 billion registered in the same period last year. Net income for the Dish Network in the third quarter also moved into the black, hitting $22.9 million, compared with a loss of $191.6 million in the same quarter in 2002.