Double-Digit Gains In Revenue, Subscribers In Q1 For EchoStar

LITTLETON, COLO. — EchoStar Communications — which offers direct broadcast satellite television via its DISH Network as well as designs and distributes DBS set-top boxes for DISH — reported about a 53 percent increase in total revenue for the first quarter ended March 31. Revenues reached $862 million in the three months, compared with $566 million in the year-ago period.

The company said it added about 460,000 net new subscribers in the first quarter, and that it had about 5.72 million subscribers as of the end of the first quarter — a 48 percent increase more than the approximate 3.87 million subscribers as of March 31, 2000.

DISH Network also experienced positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $51 million in the first quarter, compared with EBITDA of negative $88 million in the year-ago first quarter. This improvement was attributed primarily to the continued increase in the number of DISH Network subscribers and higher average revenue per subscriber.

Even though EchoStar incurred substantial up-front acquisition costs in connection with subscriber growth, operating and net losses narrowed significantly, as revenue from the 5.72 million customers continued to grow and operating efficiencies were achieved.

The company's operating loss was reduced to $15 million in the first quarter, compared with $142 million in the same period last year. The net loss, including a non-recurring charge of $92 million, was $167 million in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $186 million in the same three months in 2000.