Earnings Labs

EchoStar Corporation (SATS)

Q1 2014 Earnings Call· Fri, May 9, 2014

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good morning. My name is Charice, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Q1 2014 Earnings Call for EchoStar Corporation. [Operator Instructions] I would now to turn the conference over to Deepak Dutt. Go ahead, Deepak.

Deepak V. Dutt

Analyst

Thank you, and good day, everyone. Welcome to EchoStar's first quarter 2014 earnings call. I'm joined today by Mike Dugan, our CEO; Dave Rayner, CFO; Pradman Kaul, President of Hughes; Mark Jackson, President of EchoStar Technologies; Anders Johnson, President of EchoStar Satellite Services; Ken Carroll, Executive Vice President, Corporate and Business Development; Dean Manson, General Counsel; Grant Barber, CFO, Hughes; and Tom McElroy, Controller. As you know, we invite media to participate in listen-only mode on the call and ask that you not identify participants or their firms in your reports. We also do not allow audio taping, which we ask that you request -- rather, you respect. Let me now turn this over the Dean Manson for the Safe Harbor clause. Dean?

Dean A. Manson

Analyst

Thanks, Deepak, and hello, everyone. All statements we make during this call that are not statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking statements, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results to be materially different from historical results and from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For a list of those factors and risks, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed in connection with our earnings. All cautionary statements we make during this call should be understood as being applicable to any forward-looking statements we make, wherever they appear. You should carefully consider the risks described in our report and should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no responsibility for updating any forward-looking statements. I'll now turn the call over to Mike Dugan.

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Citi

Thank you, Dean, and Deepak. First, I want to thank all you guys for joining us -- or guys and gals for joining us on the call today. I know you've got a ton of other companies to follow, and your interest in EchoStar is much appreciated. I'll first give you a brief overview of our progress for first quarter of '14, and then Mr. Dave Rayner will follow up with some specifics about our financial results. Once again, we had another solid quarter, with $826 million of revenue compared to $795 million in the first quarter of '13. We also had another quarter of subscriber growth at our Hughes consumer business. We are pleased to announce that we closed our satellite transaction with DISH that was discussed during last quarter's call. Finally, we closed on an agreement to expand our broadband consumer service to Brazil. Specifics on EchoStar Technology. We had previously made several exciting announcements relating to our set-top box and Sling product lines. In the first quarter, we launched a product called Super Joey for DISH, which expands the already popular Hopper whole-home DVR system, or network, from a 3-tuner system to a 5-tuner system. Additionally, the Virtual Joey software application for certain models of LG smart TVs and the PlayStation 3 gaming console was launched in the first quarter. This allows those devices to run off the Hopper as if it was a Joey. The whole-home experience includes live TV, recordings and navigation. And with the expansion to 5 tuners, it gives a dramatic improvement, along with Primetime Anytime. These innovative enhancements offer flexibility and content access unlike any other product still in the marketplace. In addition, Channel Master introduced the EchoStar-designed DVR+, an ultraslim over-the-air DVR with an integrated guide for all content, the ability…

David J. Rayner

Analyst · Citi

Thank you, Mike. I'll make a couple of comments on our financial performance, and then we'll open it up to questions. As Mike mentioned, EchoStar revenue in the first quarter was $826 million compared to $795 million in the first quarter of 2013. This growth was a result of strong growth in ESS and Hughes revenue, partially offset by a decline in EchoStar Technology revenue. EBITDA was $192 million in the first quarter of 2014, a 12% increase over the first quarter of 2013, with all 3 segments contributing to the growth, partially offset by a large onetime gain that we recorded last year as a result of a sale of certain investments. For the 3 operating segments, EBITDA increased 30% over the first quarter of 2013. Net income attributable to EchoStar common stock was $12.7 million compared to $3.5 million in Q1 2013, and diluted earnings per share were $0.14 in Q1 this year compared to $0.04 last year. EchoStar's capital expenditures in the first quarter were $114 million compared to $72.6 million in the first quarter of 2013. The majority of the spending was on satellite construction and Hughes consumer CPE, with the increase year-over-year being the result of spend -- primarily result of spending on EchoStar XIX. Cash and marketable securities at the end of the quarter were $1.7 billion, an increase of $87 million from the beginning of the year. Specifically, on each of the business segments, EchoStar Technologies revenue in Q1 was $406 million compared to $427 million in the first quarter of 2013. The decline was primarily due to lower equipment sales to our international customers. EBITDA in Q1 was $39 million, a growth of 30% over Q1 2013, driven primarily by lower expenses this year. Hughes revenue in the first quarter of 2014…

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from Jason Bazinet with Citi.

Jason B. Bazinet - Citigroup Inc, Research Division

Analyst · Citi

I have maybe an odd question to start off with. Regarding the transaction with DISH that you announced, you did a good job explaining the benefits to the companies on the last call. And I was wondering if there might be one other benefit that you could comment on, and the hypothesis is that if we -- if DISH does go down the path of trying to merge with DirecTV, now that you have 5 additional satellites, would that put you in a position to offer wholesale video services in the U.S. the way you do in Mexico to help facilitate a merger to the extent the government gets concerned about the monopoly position the pro forma entity would have on the noncable markets? And is there sort of anything that prevents you from playing that role legally or regulatorily?

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Citi

This is Mike Dugan. That is a very interesting question. However, most of the satellites acquired are currently fully leased back to DISH and currently provide service -- net service to DISH customers, either from the western arc or eastern arc. So I wouldn't attribute those additional satellites to giving us capability for wholesale distribution, but it is true that Anders and the EFS group continue to expand their service out of the EFS business unit for non-DISH-type uses. But I wouldn't directly attribute the 5 satellites to any -- to preparation for any kind of merger by any companies, to be honest with you. Dave Rayner, I don't know if you've got any other comments to add, but I think that's the right answer.

David J. Rayner

Analyst · Citi

No. I think you are correct that the satellites that we acquired are fully leased back to DISH. There is no excess capacity, nor frequency license that we could use for any sort of alternate wholesale service off of those satellites.

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Citi

Yes. I hope we answered your question.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from Andrew Spinola with Wells Fargo.

Andrew Spinola - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division

Analyst · Wells Fargo

I have a question about the Brazilian video business and maybe where you stand on that right now. Does the announcement that you're going to pursue a broadband business in Brazil lead us to assume that you will go forward with the video business, either alone or in a partnership? Or are these 2 opportunities completely separate?

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Well, they are certainly not separate. I mean, we were pursuing broadband in Brazil, actually, prior to the pursuit of a slot in the DBS business. So we find Brazil a very interesting market, as a lot of people do. The reason we decided not to comment very much on the DTH process in Brazil is we -- we're going to say the same thing we've said the last 2 conference calls, which is we don't have a partner. We're working on it. We have put a lot of continued effort this quarter into locating the ability to uplink out of Brazil, which we think will be a requirement for any kind of service launch. So a lot of the infrastructure work and, actually, the development work for set-top box and so on continues on pace. But I don't have anything exciting to announce from a partnership standpoint at this time. But it's certainly still on the radar. Hard at work across the organization, just not much to communicate.

Andrew Spinola - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Got it. And then on your CapEx guidance, you previously had said $800 million to $825 million, excluding Brazil. And I'm wondering, you came in lower than I would've thought this quarter. And then also, does Eutelsat 65 count or not count because it's Brazil? And how does XXIII fit into this? Where do you stand with your CapEx guidance right now?

David J. Rayner

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Yes. I...

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Dave, why don't -- why don't you talk about that?

David J. Rayner

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Yes. I didn't update it, Andrew, because frankly, there was nothing to update. We're still comfortable with that range. The Eutelsat satellite is not part of the exclusion for Brazil. But when I say not including Brazil, that's not including the DTH projects. But as I look at our CapEx for the year, I still think it's going to be in that same range, probably more likely towards the lower end of the range. But that $800 million to $825 million, I think, is still a good number as we sit here today.

Andrew Spinola - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Great. And then just one last one for me. After the HRG transaction, I guess we sort of assumed that maybe there was something in the works. And so I'm just wondering if -- was there a transaction that maybe didn't work out? Or are you still looking and/or negotiating other transactions.

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Wells Fargo

Well, I think, first of all, no. There wasn't a transaction that didn't work out, okay? So -- but certainly, the transaction is based on preparing us for bigger and better things. And part of the reason we have a business development organization under Ken is because his mission is to go out and look at a number of different opportunities for us to invest our capital. And we think that transaction definitely gave us a leg up to be able to look at bigger things, and we're excited to continue that work. But I don't have anything to announce today.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from Chris Quilty with Raymond James. Chris Quilty - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: I wanted to dig into a little bit in the international opportunity. It looks like the numbers, at least, equipment going into Dish Mexico continue to decline. Down, I think, from like $15 million to $8 million in the quarter. Do you expect -- still expect to see a lift in that business from the restrictions that the government listed about broadcast content and their ability to provide local channels?

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Raymond James

We're still excited about Dish Mexico. I think I'll let Mark talk about it. I think we had a seasonality issue on the set-top boxes, rather than a major reduction. But Mark, do you want to talk about that?

Markus Wayne Jackson

Analyst · Raymond James

Yes. I think the big thing is our ability to put local channels up. I mean, we had tremendous growth when we launched the platform, but our big handicap is we had no local content. It's like the equivalent of having no ABC or CBS on your platform in Mexico. So with the rules and regulations change, we were able to launch some of those channels, and we have seen some good growth since we've done that. Our next horizon will have to be high-def -- yes, we expanded the high-def. We tried to go upmarket in some of our customer base in Mexico. And the team in Mexico is working very hard on that, and they're doing a pretty good job. So we continue to expect some growth in there, mainly because of the local spread. Chris Quilty - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: And do you have the right satellite capacity on orbit for take -- increasing HD services and other potential services?

Markus Wayne Jackson

Analyst · Raymond James

Well, we certainly have some capacity for growth plans in Mexico. There's certainly a limit to that over time. But as the business grows, I'm sure that we'll be able to find some capacity or at least some capacity from some other slots to help expand the business over time. Chris Quilty - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: Okay. And the CMBStar, the -- I guess, the reengineering of that satellite into Echo XXIII, would that satellite have the ability to fill into the slot for Brazil and replace Echo XV?

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Raymond James

Well, as you know, we've built a ton of satellites to date from EchoStar I to what we're building now. We've learned, because of the eastern, western arc requirements, because of the diversity of all the satellites up there, to make satellites capable of going to a diversity of locations. And that's done with developed technology by Loral and adjustable reflector, so on and so forth. And so there's a ton of flexibility on XXIII. I do believe one of those 8 locations could be allocated to Brazil. But we actually just started construction of the satellite, so everything's not finalized at this moment. Chris Quilty - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: Okay. And with regard to Echo XIX, in light of the court judgment. Does it make sense at this point to just begin implementing some kind of a workaround to the IP issues at issue?

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Raymond James

Chris, you said the IP issues? Chris Quilty - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: The -- there is 3 patents involved, and...

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Raymond James

Right. Chris Quilty - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: The question is, does it make sense to go into Echo XIX now and begin designing around those patents, or do you just continue on the same path?

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Raymond James

Well, the -- as you know, EchoStar's had a lot of historic experience with patent issues, from TiVo to other areas. The fluidity of this situation is quite different because we're not directly involved. So we're really not able to comment further on this point. As always, however, if and when we have something material to report, we certainly will do that. But because of the -- because it's with a vendor and not with us directly, it's almost impossible for us to comment further. And I'm not trying to duck the question. I'm just being honest here. So I'm sorry. Chris Quilty - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: Okay. And finally, on the Hughes business, were you happy with the subs, the net adds here in the quarter? Were you seeing any particular issues with churn or direct competition? And just as a catch-up here, Q1 is typically your strongest quarter of the year, so we should probably expect sequential down going into Q2?

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Raymond James

Oh, I'm sure if you talk to the Hughes team, they'd tell you I'm never happy. And so to say that I'm totally happy with the number of subs we've added, sure, I would have liked to have done more. I think -- I'm not sure about the historical Q1. Pradman, do you want to talk to that at all? I think we were pretty much on target, but there's areas to improve, and we're going to continue to do that.

Pradman P. Kaul

Analyst · Raymond James

Yes. I think -- Mike, this is Pradman. We're definitely on target. And Chris, you're right. Q1 is traditionally our strongest quarter and followed by Q2, which is traditionally our slowest quarter. So we certainly expect that trend to continue this year. But all in all, we were very pleased with our Q1 numbers. Chris Quilty - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division: And can you comment on -- with regard to the shift between wholesale or retail business? It looks like your equipment sales for wholesale were down going into the quarter here.

Pradman P. Kaul

Analyst · Raymond James

Yes. That sort of varies quarter-to-quarter depending on the amount of inventory that DISH has in a particular thing. So the number of units they take may not directly be proportional to the number of subs we actually sign up that quarter. It's also a function of the inventory they have at any particular time, so I wouldn't read too much into that.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And I'm not showing any further questions -- no. We have some coming in now. Our next question comes from Amy Yong with Macquarie Capital.

Andrew DeGasperi - Macquarie Research

Analyst · Macquarie Capital

It's Andrew for Amy. So I wanted to ask you on -- do you have any timing around offering services in Europe through Solaris? And secondly, the EUTELSAT 65 satellite is using some of the technology you're using on Jupiter 1 and, I guess, the future Jupiter 2. I was wondering if there's any potential risk from the current or future litigation that ViaSat is undertaking with SSL and if you can comment on that?

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Macquarie Capital

Well, I guess, Ken, you could talk about -- I really don't think we have any specifics to share on Solaris customer availability. But Ken or Anders, if you've got any update you want to give, feel free.

Anders N. Johnson

Analyst · Macquarie Capital

Well, there's certain regulatory milestones that the European Commission will hold Solaris accountable to. Those milestones basically relate to the establishment of the satellite infrastructure and then the commencement of the offering of services. I mean, at a very high level, 2016 will be the year in which the infrastructure is established and the commencement of services will occur. Right now, we're on a trajectory to satisfy those milestones, so that's our expectation as well.

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Macquarie Capital

I don't know on the Eutelsat -- I don't know if we have anything specific to say about that, Pradman, as far as the patents and so on. I assume we don't.

Pradman P. Kaul

Analyst · Macquarie Capital

No, I don't think so. I think our answer is similar to what you just mentioned on Jupiter 2 or Echo XIX. The same issues have to be resolved over the next few months.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions]

Michael T. Dugan

Analyst · Citi

If there's no more questions, I guess, we can end the call, Deepak. It's up to you.

Deepak V. Dutt

Analyst

Yes. I think that is correct. Operator?

Operator

Operator

Yes, sir.

Deepak V. Dutt

Analyst

We'll end the call now since there are no more questions. And let me just close by thanking everybody for signing on to our conference call today, and good day.

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.