Satellite Internet provider Viasat managed to keep its financial ship on course during a turbulent fiscal 2021 that included a sharp decline for inflight Wi-Fi revenue as travelers stayed home during the pandemic.
Now the Carlsbad company is looking for a rebound as passengers return to the skies. To that end, Viasat said Tuesday that Delta Air Lines will retrofit another 230 planes in its domestic fleet with Viasat’s antennas to deliver in-flight Internet and seat-back video to passengers.
The new award comes on top of the more than 300 Delta aircraft already in the pipeline to receive Viasat-powered inflight Wi-Fi.
In total, 1,480 aircraft from Jet Blue, American Airlines, United Airlines and others are equipped with Viasat’s Internet service. But up to 630 of those planes were grounded at various times throughout the pandemic.
“This year, I think the hurdle was a lot higher than what might have been obvious to everybody,” said Chief Executive Richard Baldridge in a conference call on Tuesday for Viasat’s fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year results. “It was a really tough year, and the team did a fantastic job. And things are accelerating. We’re looking at growth for our fiscal year 2022.”
For its fiscal year, Viasat’s revenue dipped 2 percent to $2.256 billion compared with a year earlier. Net income swung to a $4 million profit under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, compared with a loss of $200,000 the prior year.
In its fourth quarter, Viasat’s sales rose 1 percent to $596 million. GAAP net income reached $7.4 million — up more than 300 percent from a year earlier.
While the company’s in-flight connectivity business suffered during the pandemic, its home satellite Internet service made up the difference as stay-at-home restrictions resulted in customers opting for higher priced, top tier plans.
Viasat’s home Internet subscribers totaled 590,000 at the end of March, roughly equal with the same quarter last year.
Still, that’s down from a peak of 603,000 subscribers in September as competition heats up for space-based Internet.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has begun beta testing Starlink — a constellation of thousands of low-Earth orbit Internet satellites. Amazon and OneWeb are planning similar constellations.
Starlink promises faster speeds and less latency than high-orbit, geostationary satellites such as Viasat’s — though reviews of Starlink service so far have been mixed. The beta service costs $99 a month, plus a $499 one-time antenna charge.
Viasat’s response is a three-satellite, high-orbit constellation with massive capacity.
The first ViaSat-3 satellite is expected to launch in early calendar 2022 with coverage over the Americas. It aims to deliver a terabyte of maximum throughput, significantly more than any other Internet satellite in space.
Two additional terabyte-class satellites are forecast to launch in six-to-nine-month intervals after the first ViaSat-3 enters orbit— blanketing the globe with coverage.
Mike Crawford, an analyst with B. Riley Securities, said Viasat’s next-generation constellation will feature the most deliverable bandwidth at the lowest cost per bit worldwide.
“We believe Viasat remains on track to extend its leadership position in the space industry that many see as hurtling toward a trillion-dollar annual economy within the next two decades,” said Crawford in a research report.
Viasat on Tuesday announced the promotion of two executives during the quarter. Craig Miller, who has been with the company since 1995, has been appointed president of Viasat’s government systems business, which exceeds $1 billion in annual revenue, providing government customers with tactical radios, satellite services, cybersecurity and other products.
Miller replaces Ken Peterman, who has stepped into an advisory role at the company.
Evan Dixon has been named president of Viasat’s global fixed broadband business, which includes residential and business Internet as well as community Wi-Fi, which brings affordable internet service to the hardest-to-reach locations around the world. He joined Viasat in 2015 and previously held senior management positions at DirecTV and AT&T.
The Carlsbad company’s shares ended trading Tuesday up 13 cents at $47.55 on the Nasdaq exchange.
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Viasat aims for rebound in satellite-powered inflight Wi-Fi; Delta to equip 230 additional aircraft - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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