GeoEye Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2010 Earnings Results

DULLES, Va., March 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- GeoEye, Inc. (Nasdaq: GEOY), a premier provider of superior satellite and aerial geospatial information and services, announced today results for its fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2010.

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“We had a very successful year, met our corporate goals and delivered 22 percent revenue growth and strong margins,” said Matt O’Connell, GeoEye’s chief executive officer and president. “We won a ten-year, multi-billion-dollar award from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA); launched our Web dissemination services platform, EyeQ™; and acquired SPADAC, now renamed GeoEye Analytics, the leader in the field of predictive geospatial analytics. In 2011, we’ll build on these significant achievements by focusing on the construction of our next-generation, high-resolution satellite, GeoEye-2, and increasing our value-added information services and product offerings to our expanding customer base.”

FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

Total revenues were $82.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2010, a 12.7% increase from $73.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. The net income available to common stockholders for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $15.2 million, or $0.68 per fully diluted share, compared to net income of $11.7 million, or $0.55 per fully diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2009. Adjusted net income available to common stockholders (a non-GAAP measurement that excludes the impact of non-operating charges, gains and one-time charges and tax benefits) for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $9.5 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, as compared to $6.8 million, or $0.32 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Domestic revenues were $60.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2010, which were 73.2% of total revenues for the period. International revenues were $22.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2010, which were 26.8% of total revenues for the period. Domestic revenues increased 5.2% for the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to the same period in 2009. International revenues increased 40.0% for the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to the same period in 2009.

Operating profit was $23.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2010, a $4.3 million increase from $19.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Operating margin was 28.7% for the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to 26.4% in the same period in 2009. Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measurement defined as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, non-cash recognition of stock compensation expense and other items) increased approximately $7.0 million, to approximately $43.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2010, from $36.7 million the same period in 2009.

The Company ended the fourth quarter of 2010 with unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $333.4 million; total assets of approximately $1.3 billion; stockholders’ equity of $443.2 million and long-term debt of $508.2 million.

TWELVE MONTH RESULTS

Total revenues for the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2010, were $330.3 million, a 21.9% increase from $271.1 million in the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2009. The Company’s Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve-month period ended Dec. 31, 2010, was $176.9 million, an increase of 33.9% from the $132.2 million reported in the same period in 2009. GAAP net income available to common stockholders for the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2010, was $22.7 million, or $1.02 per fully diluted share, as compared to GAAP net income available to common stockholders of $32.1 million, or $1.55 per fully diluted share, in the same period of 2009.

Adjusted net income available to common stockholders for the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2010, was $44.3 million, or $1.99 per diluted share, as compared to $25.4 million, or $1.23 per diluted share for the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2009, excluding the impact of non-operating charges, gains and one-time charges and tax benefits in both periods.

FOURTH QUARTER AND FISCAL YEAR 2010 OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

• Significant new contract award
  • On Aug. 6, 2010, the Company was awarded a contract for up to $3.8 billion from the NGA under the EnhancedView program. The period of performance for the EnhancedView contract is 10 years. It began on Sept. 1, 2010, and continues through Aug. 31, 2011, with nine one-year options.
• GeoEye-2 construction
  • Under the terms of the EnhancedView award, the NGA will contribute up to $337.0 million of the overall construction costs of GeoEye's next-generation satellite, GeoEye-2.
  • During the year, the Company invested $243.1 million for the continued development and construction of the GeoEye-2 satellite. To date, the Company has invested $309.9 million in the GeoEye-2 satellite program.
• Additional cash proceeds
  • On Sept. 22, 2010, the Company completed a convertible preferred stock sale to Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., which generated proceeds of $78.0 million.
  • On Oct. 1, 2010, the Company issued $125.0 million of 8.625% Senior Secured Notes due 2016. The proceeds of $121.0 million will be used for general working capital purposes.
• Information services developments
  • On Sept. 30, 2010, the Company launched the commercial EyeQ service to provide Web mapping services to commercial customers.
  • On Dec. 15, 2010, the Company completed the acquisition of SPADAC, now called GeoEye Analytics, the industry leader in the field of predictive analytics. GeoEye Analytics has approximately 170 employees who work at over 40 federal defense and intelligence agencies.

FIRST QUARTER AND FISCAL YEAR 2011 FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

The Company expects revenues for the first quarter of 2011 to be in the range of $86 to $90 million with an Adjusted EBITDA of $42 to $45 million and earnings per share of $0.37 to $0.45.

For the full year, the Company expects revenues to be in the range of $360 to $380 million with Adjusted EBITDA of $170 to $185 million and earnings per share of $1.70 to $2.00.

These estimates represent management's current expectations about the Company's future financial performance, based on information available at this time.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY) will host a conference call for investors and analysts to discuss financial results for the fourth quarter and 2010 fiscal year, which ended Dec. 31, 2010.

When: March 15, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time

To Participate:

To participate in the call via phone, domestic callers may dial toll-free 1-877-776-4039 approximately 10 minutes prior to the start time. International callers may dial 1-631-291-4808. Callers may identify themselves to the operator as GeoEye conference call participants or by using the conference ID number: 40408544. Questions will be accepted from phone participants during the live call after prepared remarks and as time permits.

The conference call will also be webcast on the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's corporate Web site, www.geoeye.com. To directly access the live webcast go to: http://www.geoeye.com/CorpSite/corporate/investor-relations/Default.aspx and click on the "March 15, 2011 Investor Update Webcast" link. Please allow 15 minutes before the scheduled start time to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

Replay:

An audio replay of the fourth quarter conference call will be available through midnight March 22, 2011, by dialing (800) 642-1687 and typing in the conference ID number: 40408544.

An archived webcast of the conference call will be available at the same URL address approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call.

Selected financial results for the Company are as follows (dollars in thousands, except earnings per share):

About GeoEye

GeoEye, Inc. is a leading international information services company serving government and commercial markets. The Company is recognized as one of the geospatial industry's imagery experts, delivering exceptional quality imagery products, services and solutions to customers around the world. In August 2010, GeoEye was named one of Fortune Magazine’s “100 Fastest-Growing Companies” in the United States. The Company has more than 700 employees dedicated to developing best-in-class geospatial information products and services. GeoEye is a public company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol GEOY. Additional information about GeoEye is available at www.geoeye.com

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Without limitation, the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “will” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, including statements relating to growth, expected levels of expenditures and statements expressing general optimism about future operating results, are forward-looking statements. Similarly, statements that describe our business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements and those presented elsewhere by our management from time to time are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in "Risk Factors" included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2009, which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 12, 2010, and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2010, June 30, 2010 and Sept. 30, 2010, which we filed with the SEC on May 10, 2010, Aug. 9, 2010 and Nov. 9, 2010, respectively. Copies of all SEC filings may be obtained from the SEC's EDGAR Web site, http://www.sec.gov/, or by contacting: William L. Warren, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, at 703-480-5672.

SOURCE GeoEye, Inc.