spacetoday.net: Orbital reports 2nd quarter loss

Posted: Wed, Jul 23, 2003, 7:40 AM ET (1140 GMT)
As expected, Orbital Sciences Corporation recorded a small loss in its second quarter because of poor performance by an electronics unit as well as a settlement paid to Orbimage. Orbital reported revenue of $158.4 million in the quarter ending June 30, with a net loss of $4.6 million; the company had revenues of $135.4 million and net income of $5.4 million in the same quarter of 2002. The company blamed the loss on poor performance on transportation management systems contracts in its electronics unit, as well as a $3.5 million settlement paid to Orbimage. That settlement charge, which Orbital warned about several weeks ago, includes $1 million in penalties for not launching Orbimage's OrbView-3 satellite by the end of April. OrbView-3 was launched in late June and is currently undergoing checkout in orbit. Other segments of the business, including its core launch vehicle and satellite manufacturing units, are performing well, company executives said.