spacetoday.net: Orbital reports profit, wins satellite contract

Posted: Sat, Oct 26, 2002, 8:26 PM ET (0026 GMT)
Orbital Sciences Corporation reported a profit in its fiscal third quarter on Friday, and won a commercial communications satellite contract one day later. Orbital reported net income of $1.6 million in the third quarter of 2002; the company had a higher net income in the same quarter of 2001, $5.6 million, but that was due to a $21.9 million gain from discontinued operations. The company credited the growth to strong performance from its launch vehicle sector, which has a multi-year contract with Boeing to build missile defense test boosters, and its satellite division, which building both commercial and scientific satellites. Revenue for the quarter was $134.8 million, up 48 percent from the same quarter a year ago. On Saturday, Indonesian telecommunications operator PT Telkom announced that it had awarded a contract to Orbital for a new communications satellite. Details about the contract were not released, but the $73-million satellite is likely from Orbital's STAR line of small GEO communications spacecraft.