Hughes Communications sees 4th-quarter net income decline amid drop of enterprise business

Hughes 4Q net income drops amid sales decline

GERMANTOWN, Md. — Satellite broadband Internet service provider Hughes Communications Inc. said Wednesday its fourth quarter net income fell 29 percent as it lost some big business clients.

But its results beat the expectation of analysts, and its shares rose 43 cents, or 1.5 percent, to close at $28.45 on Wednesday.

The company said its net income in the three months to Dec. 31 fell to $2.4 million, or 11 cents per share, down from $3.4 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 8 percent to $262 million from $286 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of a penny per share and revenue of $265 million.

Part of the quarter’s revenue decline was due to the loss of a contract due to the bankruptcy of Chrysler last year. Gains in consumer subscribers were offset by declines in telecom systems and enterprise revenue.

For the full year, the company posted a net loss of $52.7 million, or $2.46 per share, reversing a net profit of $9 million, or 44 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 5 percent to $1.01 billion from $1.06 billion.