Inmarsat Share Discussion Threads

[ygor705] 06/3/2012 13:47

Enami: I think that the gross yield is 6.1% if you gross up for the 10% tax credit. Still pretty good and likely to underpin share price performance in what may be a dull year in 2012. I note the comment about the US$270m being returned to shareholders. Have you seen any detail on this?

[losos] 06/3/2012 10:28

Enami - thanks for summarising those results - To me that looks like a half decent set of figures am I missing something????

[enami] 06/3/2012 07:22

ADVFN news seems not to be updating today

Inmarsat plc - Full Year 2011 Highlights

· Total revenue $1,409m up 20% (2010: $1,172m)

· EBITDA $854m up 23% (2010: $696m)

· Profit before tax $367m up 10% (2010: $334m)

· Strong growth in FleetBroadband ARPUs

· IsatPhone Pro subscribers exceed 50,000 to date

· Final dividend of 24.96 cents US$ up 10%

· $270m of cash returned to shareholders

EDIT An upbeat outlook from the CEO for a change.

Rupert Pearce, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased with the progress we are making in MSS subscriber growth and in the development of our next generation Global Xpress satellite services. As a result, we are confident in both the on-going cash flow generation in our core MSS business and in the potential for significantly renewed revenue growth once our Global Xpress services become available from late next year. We expect our 2012 revenue growth trends in our core MSS business to improve on 2011."

TOTAL DIVIDEND - 40.36¢ = 6.3% Yield.

[losos] 24/2/2012 16:51

Nick, many thanks for posts 1452 & 1455 which have clarified the situation in my mind. Lightsquared seem to be doomed but it would seem the only impact on ISAT is that the juicy payments will stop but no repayments are required. Unlike Sprint who do have to return $65 billion which may keep Lightsquared afloat for a bit longer, ultimately they are dead in the water IMO.

All the stuff about Falcone just goes to prove that while you might make a lot of money in betting against the trend, when it comes to technology you had better adopt a slow and steady approach. I suspect that is not in Falcones character and he'll have to pay the price.

[ygor705] 21/2/2012 17:55

I doubt that too many people are surprised that the Lightsquared payments to ISAT have dried up. Quite a few commentators were forecasting that problems might arise well before they did. Falcone's problems appear to be escalating apace and being offside with US politicians doesn't help.

The Lightsquared income was always going to be a buffer for ISAT whilst, hopefully, they brought new product on stream. Nevertheless, I don't see the market that Lightsquared was trying to address going away any time soon so any party involved with the game is worth watching.

[pirgatto] 21/2/2012 07:56

It is strange.Probably there is something we don`t know?
P

[enami] 20/2/2012 16:06

It's a public holiday in the USA today so I expect any reaction from their side would come tomorrow.

[undervaluedassets] 20/2/2012 16:04

no one bothered about this missing 56 million payment then? amazing.

I like this company but astonished that it did not take a tumble today on what I would have thought is very big news.

[undervaluedassets] 20/2/2012 10:35

latest RNS regarding lightsquared non payment don't look too clever.

[ygor705] 19/2/2012 11:27

Further overnight news:

Harbinger Capital's Philip Falcone sued by investors over $3bn broadband bet.

Phil Falcone, the billionaire hedge fund manager whose firm made $11bn (£6.9bn) from the sub-prime crisis, is being sued by investors after a $3bn bet to create a US-wide mobile broadband service appeared to hit the buffers.

Mr Falcone, pictured with wife Lisa Maria, famously made $11bn from betting against the booming US mortgage market. Photo: GETTYBy James Quinn and Richard Blackden
11:00PM GMT 18 Feb 2012
1 Comment
Mr Falcone, chief investment officer of Harbinger Capital Partners, stands accused of misleading investors over its decision to invest in the service through its acquisition of LightSquared.

Court filings lodged in New York accuse him and one of the firm's investment funds of investing in LightSquared even though the original aim of the fund was to invest in distressed debt and sub-prime mortgages.

Mr Falcone famously made $11bn from betting against the booming US mortgage market, after taking short positions in late 2006, delivering a 116pc return for his flagship Harbinger Capital Partners Fund.

But investor Lili Schad, who invested $4m with Harbinger, claims in the court documents that she was not told that Harbinger was investing 60pc of the fund's money into the new technology venture.

She is leading the lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages and return of all funds, with the aim of it being granted class action status so all Harbinger investors could benefit.

That venture hit the buffers earlier this week when the US government blocked LightSquared from beginning its service.The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said the signal could interfere with GPS navigation of planes and cars. As a result, Mr Falcone is now battling to save LightSquared, in which Harbinger has invested $3bn to date.

In the lawsuit, a copy of which has been seen by The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Falcone is accused of making "deceptive and misleading" statements with regard to his intentions.

Ms Schad claims that LightSquared is "facing insolvency", citing industry analyst Tim Farrar who said after the US FCC ruling that LightSquared "must now consider whether to file for bankruptcy and preserve its resources for the inevitable litigation fights, or continue pretending that all of its problems can be overcome while its cash drains away".

The suit is claiming breach of fiduciary duty to investors, gross negligence, breach of contract, and fraudulent misrepresentation.

According to reports, during a conference call with investors last Friday, Mr Falcone said he is sticking with plans to build the mobile broadband service despite the FCC setback. Neither Mr Falcone nor Harbinger has commented on the lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York.

Separately, Mr Falcone and Harbinger have been issued with "Wells Notice" by the US Securities and Exchange Commission which is investigating whether the firm engaged in "market manipulation" of mortgage-related securities from 2006-2008.

In a statement detailing the issue of the notices by the SEC, Harbinger said it was "disappointed" and that if the SEC did bring enforcement action, it would "vigorously defend against it".

[ygor705] 18/2/2012 15:49

Nick 100............interesting article but it raises another question in my mind. Who is likely to have the better links with the US Defence Department? Is it Falcone who made all of his money shorting toxic US securitised debt or Inmarsat who keep US troops in touch with their masters when they are doing dodgy things in even dodgier places. If it's Inmarsat, then the group is probably capable of sorting out US broadband problems for a much wider clientele than just Lightsquared.

[pirgatto] 16/2/2012 15:22

It`s probably a dream but I still think that the smoke is not out.There is no smoke without fire.
P

[nick100] 16/2/2012 15:20

LightSquared may seek airwaves swap to revive plan
By Greg Bensinger, Dow Jones Newswires
Thursday 16 February 2012
U.S. wireless provider could switch frequencies with Defence Department to avoid interfering with GPS signals.
Philip Falcone's LightSquared may seek to exchange its wireless airwave licenses for similar ones operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, in a last-ditch effort to revive its fourth-generation mobile broadband service, according to people familiar with the company's plans.

The possible strategy comes a day after officials from the Federal Communications Commission said they planned to revoke a waiver allowing the network to operate because of interference concerns.

LightSquared had been criticized by the Defense Department, legislators and makers of farm equipment and Global Positioning System devices that its network signal operates too close to those used for GPS and could interfere.

In comparison, the Defense Department airwaves--used primarily for aircraft testing--operate on a frequency farther away from GPS signals making it less likely to cause any jamming, the people said. Such an airwave swap is among several options the company is considering in response to the FCC action Tuesday, the people said, and LightSquared may ultimately not pursue it.

A spokesman for the Reston, Va.-based LightSquared declined to comment on the company's plans. Also representatives from the Defense Department and FCC declined to comment. It is unclear which agencies may need to approve such a deal.

LightSquared has engaged boutique investment bank Moelis & Co. as a restructuring advisor, according to a person familiar with the matter. The FCC ruling comes at a difficult financial time for the company as it faces an April interest payment on $1.6 billion of secured loans and several hundred million dollars of subordinated debt falling due in July.

The move to swap its spectrum would represent a change in strategy for LightSquared. The company has said it is the victim of incomplete testing and that its proposed network would create thousands of jobs and ease congestion on carriers' services as more Americans buy data-hungry smartphones and tablet computers. Falcone also has invested billions of his Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund's money in the venture.

The matter came to a head on Tuesday when the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a unit of the Commerce Department, sent a letter to the FCC saying it could find no way to lessen
GPS interference from LightSquared. Shortly afterward, the FCC said it would recommend against allowing LightSquared to roll out its network.

LightSquared said on Tuesday that it "profoundly disagrees" with testing that showed its network caused GPS interference. LightSquared has argued that the GPS industry should have anticipated any interference and should be required to pay for filters that would block out the company's signal.

A Commerce Department spokeswoman said she had no immediate comment.

The FCC granted LightSquared a waiver in early 2011 to operate satellite wireless airwaves, or spectrum, for a land-based nationwide network that would reach 260 million Americans by the end of 2015. LightSquared hoped to compete with AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and others in selling its spectrum wholesale and had agreements with Best Buy Co., Leap Wireless International Inc. and other companies.

LightSquared may lose an important partner in Sprint Nextel Corp. if it cannot get FCC approval to operate by mid-March. The two companies reached a 15-year agreement to share network resources and construction expenses that would have saved LightSquared as much as $13 billion through the end of this decade.

Sprint had recently given LightSquared two extensions to get approval from the FCC. Sprint may have to return $65 million in prepayments to LightSquared if it fails to meet its latest deadline.

Falcone's Harbinger Capital, the primary financial backer of LightSquared, reported the value of its largest fund dipped 47% last year because of a write-down of the value of the wireless company. LightSquared has said it has enough cash on hand to operate for several quarters, without providing specifics.

Investors, who were awaiting information from Harbinger, questioned whether further write-downs on LightSquared would be necessary and what other options the firm might explore.

The hedge fund has set up a 10 a.m. call with investors on Friday, but hasn't provided extensive communications to investors in light of the FCC decision, in part because it is still trying to decipher what the ruling means, a person familiar with the matter said.

The company faces additional competition from Dish Network Corp., which has a pending application with the FCC to also operate satellite spectrum ...
for a terrestrial wireless network. Dish has said it expects the FCC to rule by the end of March, but that it would take several years to build out a network after approval.

[redartbmud] 16/2/2012 09:55

wad

current inflation will help it to 670p by 2020.

[redartbmud] 16/2/2012 09:55

wad

current inflation will help it to 670p by 2020.

[ygor705] 15/2/2012 13:13

I think that the reason that they were marked down early on was an announcement by the FCC that they are not approving Lightsquared. No surprise as far as I'm concerned - Falcone looks to have got himself uncomfortably wedged between Democratic and Republican politics which currently looks more toxic than US securitised debt! Where does that leave Inmarsat? Not sure myself at the moment but the share price doesn't look too concerned. We've had a big fall here and this is a quality stock paying a decent divi. I want to see these cards played out.

[redartbmud] 15/2/2012 08:47

Read analyst predictions at your peril.
Bet no timeframe on 670p

[wad collector] 15/2/2012 08:31

If they really think this is worth 670p , surely this makes it a screaming buy at 450p !

[enami] 15/2/2012 08:20

Strange opening today, down 5% at the delayed open.
Market manipulation?

HSBC reiterates Overweight Target reduced from 790.00 To 670.00 is the only thing I can see.

[ygor705] 14/2/2012 14:13

I see that Thomas Hendricks of Airlines of America has been sounding off about how evil LightSquared interference can be (reported on Bloomberg 8/2). That said the GPS systems used at US airports look particularly vulnerable. According to the Bloomberg report, during 2010 a truck driver was driving passed Newark airport on the New Jersey turnpike using a jamming device to disable his company truck's GPS system (presumably he didn't want to be found!). He subsequently got an FCC enforcement notice for illegal activity which suggests that he also blew the airport's GPS system. If this is correct, it sounds to me as if there might be a huge hole in US airport's security systems. This all sounds a bit like one of the Die Hard movies to me. Be interesting to see how this one pans out.

[losos] 09/2/2012 16:37

Back over 470 today, worth keeping an eye on this one!!!
I am in this for the yield but it would be nice to see them go a bit higher.

[pirgatto] 09/2/2012 15:39

Hmm,I wamder why the Inmarsat spokesman did not say that they have not received any approaches.But he did make a comment! to say that they do not comment! on speculatios.??

Also it seems to me that the momentum of the share price is still up?
P