EchoStar Reports Second Quarter 2004 Financial Results

[Scott Greczkowski]

EchoStar Reports Second Quarter 2004 Financial Results

Company's DISH Network Adds 340,000 Net New Subscribers

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 2004--EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH) reported that its DISH

Network(TM) satellite television service added approximately 340,000 net new subscribers during the second quarter of 2004.

DISH Network had approximately 10.125 million subscribers as of June 30, 2004.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2004, EchoStar reported total revenue of $1.78 billion, a 26 percent increase compared to $1.41 billion for the corresponding period in 2003.

Net income totaled $85 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2004, compared to net income of $129 million during the corresponding period in 2003. Basic earnings per share was $0.18 for the quarter ended June 30, 2004, compared to basic earnings per share of $0.27 during the corresponding period in 2003.

Detailed financial data and other information are available in EchoStar's Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2004, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

EchoStar also announced that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of an aggregate of up to an additional $1 billion of EchoStar's Class A Common Stock. EchoStar may make repurchases of its Class A Common stock under this plan through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions subject to market conditions and other factors. The repurchase program does not require EchoStar to acquire any specific number or amount of securities and any of those programs may be terminated at any time. This authorization by the board of directors is separate from and additional to the one that EchoStar announced in November 2003. This announcement is neither a request nor an offer for tender of EchoStar Class A Common stock.

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements set forth above involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any such statement, including the risks and uncertainties discussed in EchoStar Communications Corporation's Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements included in its recent filings, including Forms 10-K and 10-Q, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and EchoStar Communications Corporation undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

About EchoStar

EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH) serves more than 10 million satellite TV customers through its DISH Network(TM) and is a leading U.S. provider of advanced digital television services. DISH Network's services include hundreds of video and audio channels, Interactive TV, HDTV, sports and international programming, together with professional installation and 24-hour customer service. DISH Network is the leader in the sale of digital video recorders (DVRs).

EchoStar has been a leader for 23 years in digital satellite TV equipment sales and support worldwide. EchoStar is included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and is a Fortune 500 company. Visit EchoStar's Web site at (www.echostar.com) or call 1-800-333-DISH (3474).

EchoStar will host its Second Quarter 2004 earnings conference call today at noon ET. The call will be broadcast live from EchoStar's website, www.echostar.com. The dial-in number is 800-616-6729. To access the webcast of this event, go to www.echostar.com, then select "Investor Relations." A telephone recording of the conference call will not be made available.

# # #

CONTACT: EchoStar Communications Corporation

Jason Kiser, 303-723-2210 (Investor Relations)

jason.kiser@echostar.com

or

Steve Caulk, 303-723-2010 (Media Relations)

steve.caulk@echostar.com

 

[mwgiii]

EchoStar also announced that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of an aggregate of up to an additional $1 billion of EchoStar's Class A Common Stock. EchoStar may make repurchases of its Class A Common stock under this plan through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions subject to market conditions and other factors. The repurchase program does not require EchoStar to acquire any specific number or amount of securities and any of those programs may be terminated at any time. This authorization by the board of directors is separate from and additional to the one that EchoStar announced in November 2003. This announcement is neither a request nor an offer for tender of EchoStar Class A Common stock.

I wonder if Charlie is going to cash in some of his stock.

 

[Wishbone]

Their revenue was up 26% but their net was down 34% ??? Must have been paying the Dish DVR 522 programmers overtime..

 

[fredfa]

Here is Variety.com's version of yesterday's Dish earnings news -- as well as where all those subs are coming from:
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Dish dines on cable's subs
EchoStar nabs Charter customers, ups profit
By MICHAEL LEARMONTH

NEW YORK -- The satellite pay television business continues to eat cable TV's lunch -- and is eyeing its dinner as well.

EchoStar Communications reported Monday that its Dish Network added 340,000 subscribers in the second quarter, which analysts said came largely at the expense of cable operators, especially Charter Communications.

Report follows last week's news that the No. 1 satellite service, DirecTV, added 455,000 new subs in the quarter.

In comparison, the cable industry as a whole lost 867,000 homes during the first seven months of the year, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising.

Unlike DirecTV, which slipped into the red on higher costs to acquire and retain customers during the quarter, EchoStar managed to hold on to a profit, albeit a smaller one than last year's.

Profits slipped 33% to $85.2 million, down from $128.7 million a year ago. Revenue rose 25.7% to $1.78 billion, up from $1.41 billion.

EchoStar's boffo sub count expansion together with DirecTV's stellar numbers signal that satellite is winning a price war for low-end consumers. Dish also has added local channels in 136 media markets in all 50 states, giving it a competitive offering to cable at a lower price.

One particular victim of EchoStar's success appears to be Charter, which posted huge subscriber losses for the second quarter. "EchoStar beat our estimates, but it's not surprising given the loss of basic subscribers at Charter," said Thomas Eagan, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co.

In addition, EchoStar reaped benefits from a partnership with SBC Communications to sell Dish service bundled with telephone service. Company did not disclose in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing how many new subscribers were added through the partnership, and execs were not immediately available for comment.

But along with higher subscription adds came higher costs. Expenses increased 37.6% to $901 million from a year ago as the company expanded call centers and spent more for home installations and increased programming fees.

Monthly average revenue per subscriber increased to $55.59 in the quarter from $51.69 last year due to a price increase of $2 and the reduction in the number of subscribers receiving discounted service through promotions.

Bigger than TW Cable

Dish surpassed 10 million subscribers in the quarter, putting it close behind Time Warner Cable, the third-largest provider of pay TV in the U.S.

But Dish will come under increasing pressure from DirecTV in rural areas now that the News Corp.-owned satcaster has gained control of rural subscribers formerly managed by Pegasus Communications.

Eagan estimated that Dish has been gaining 80% of the 40,000 customers Pegasus has been losing each quarter.