Viasat’s satellite broadband strength fuels upbeat sales

Viasat reported second-quarter revenue on Wednesday that beat Wall Street estimates on strength in the segment that offers satellite-based broadband services.

Shares of the company, that offers connectivity and communications services to residential, aviation and defense customers in North America, rose 8.5% to $19.25 in extended trading.

“This quarter was the company’s best in terms of growth in the last two years…”, Viasat’s President Guru Gowrappan told Reuters.

The satellite communications firm now expects full-year 2024 actual revenue to rise in the range of $4.10 billion to $4.25 billion.

The forecast includes 10 months of contributions from British satellite rival Inmarsat, which Viasat acquired for $7.3 billion in May.

“We have a clear value proposition on global mobility, which is built on achieving meaningful and granular service level agreements even in the most call it difficult and congested hotspots…”, Gowrappan added.

Viasat, however, has faced significant headwinds in the recent months, with two launched satellites malfunctioning.

The company’s ViaSat-3 Americas satellite, which launched in April, suffered an antenna issue during deployment, while communications satellite from Inmarsat malfunctioned after launching to space in February.

Earlier this month, the company laid off 800 employees, roughly 10% of its workforce, to streamline operations following the Inmarsat acquisition.

Gowrappan said a significant portion of the layoffs were already done on the day of the announcement, a move which according to the company would annually save $100 million by fiscal year 2025.

The company posted revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, above analysts’ estimate of $1.07 billion, according to LSEG data.

On an adjusted basis, Viasat’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $486.3 million, compared with expectations of $359.6 million. Reuters