spacetoday.net: EchoStar profits fall short of expectations

Posted: Tue, Nov 11, 2003, 8:53 PM ET (0153 GMT)
Satellite TV provider EchoStar reported a quarterly profit Tuesday, but the stock fell in trading as the reported profit fell well short of expectations. EchoStar reported net income of $35 million in its fiscal third quarter, which ended September 30; the company had a net loss of $168 million in the third quarter of 2002. The company reported 285,000 additional subscribers in the quarter. However, the profit was less than half of what stock analysts had predicted prior to the report. The company said it was late getting a high-definition TV product ready in time for the holiday shopping season, a problem CEO Charlie Ergen blamed on himself during a conference call with analysts. EchoStar stock closed down nearly 13 percent Tuesday on the Nasdaq exchange.