Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:IRDM) (“Iridium”) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2017, issued its full-year 2018 guidance and updated its long-range outlook. Net income was $141.9 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2017, as compared to net income of $24.1 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2016. Operational EBITDA (“OEBITDA”) (1) for the fourth quarter was $63.7 million, as compared to $61.3 million for the prior-year period, representing a year-over-year increase of 4% and an OEBITDA margin (1) of 55%. OEBITDA benefitted from continued growth in the Company’s Internet of Things (“IoT”) data business and from higher equipment sales.
Iridium reported fourth-quarter total revenue of $115.5 million, which consisted of $91.4 million of service revenue and $24.0 million of revenue related to equipment sales and engineering and support projects. Total revenue increased 7% versus the comparable period of 2016, while service revenue grew 9% from the year-ago period. Service revenue, which represents primarily recurring revenue from Iridium’s growing subscriber base, was 79% of total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2017.
The Company ended the quarter with 969,000 total billable subscribers, which compares to 850,000 for the year-ago period and is up from 949,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2017. Total billable subscribers grew 14% year-over-year, driven by growth in commercial IoT and government customers.
