Iridium Communications Inc. (IRDM) FY 2024 MD&A
This page reproduces the company's own Item 7 MD&A text from the linked SEC filing. It is filer text, not grepcent analysis, scoring, or investment advice.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 can be found in Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as filed with the SEC on February 15, 2024.
Overview of Our Business
We are engaged primarily in providing mobile voice and data communications services using a constellation of orbiting satellites. We are the only commercial provider of communications services offering true global coverage, connecting people, organizations and assets to and from anywhere, in real time. Our low-earth orbit, L-band satellite network provides reliable, weather-resilient communications services to regions of the world where terrestrial wireless or wireline networks do not exist or are limited, including remote land areas, open ocean, airways, the polar regions and regions where the telecommunications infrastructure has been affected by political conflicts or natural disasters.
We provide voice and data communications services to businesses, the U.S. and foreign governments, non-governmental organizations and consumers via our satellite network, which has an architecture of 66 operational satellites with in-orbit spares and related ground infrastructure. We utilize an interlinked mesh architecture to route traffic across the satellite constellation using radio frequency crosslinks between satellites. This unique architecture minimizes the need for ground facilities to support the constellation, which facilitates the global reach of our services and allows us to offer services in countries and regions where we have no physical presence.
In 2024, we acquired Satelles, Inc., or Satelles, a provider of highly secure, satellite-based position, navigation and timing (PNT) services that complement and protect GPS and other Global Navigation Satellite System, or GNSS, reliant systems. Time synchronization and location data play an important role in the global economy, particularly for major industries supported by critical infrastructure, such as financial services, telecommunications, cyber-security and transportation. We believe the acquisition of Satelles’s business could generate substantial growth in our service revenue, as well as incremental equipment and engineering services revenue over the coming years from both government and commercial customers. See Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report.
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We sell our products and services to commercial end users through a wholesale distribution network, encompassing approximately 110 service providers, 310 value-added resellers, or VARs, and 85 value-added manufacturers, or VAMs, who either sell directly to the end user or indirectly through other service providers, VARs or dealers. These distributors often integrate our products and services with other complementary hardware and software and have developed a broad suite of applications for our products and services targeting specific lines of business.
At December 31, 2024, we had approximately 2,460,000 billable subscribers worldwide, an increase of 181,000, or 8%, from approximately 2,279,000 billable subscribers at December 31, 2023. We have a diverse customer base, including end users in land-mobile, Internet of Things, or IoT, maritime, aviation and government.
We recognize revenue primarily from the provision of services and the sale of equipment. Service revenue represented 74% of total revenue for each of the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. Voice and data, IoT data and broadband service revenues have historically generated higher margins than subscriber equipment revenue, and we expect this trend to continue. We also recognize revenue from our hosted payloads, principally from Aireon, including fees for hosting the payloads and fees for transmitting data from the payloads over our network, as well as revenue from other services, such as satellite time and location services.
Term Loan and Revolving Facility
On September 20, 2023, pursuant to a credit agreement (or, as amended to date, the Credit Agreement), we refinanced our previously existing term loan resulting in borrowing of $1,500.0 million, or the Term Loan, issued at a price equal to 99.75%, and an accompanying $100.0 million revolving loan, or the Revolving Facility. The maturity date of the Term Loan is in September 2030. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we borrowed an additional $325.0 million under our Term Loan, comprised of $125.0 million on March 25, 2024 and $200.0 million on July 30, 2024. The additional amounts borrowed are fungible with the original $1,500.0 million, and have the same maturity date, interest rate and other terms. The additional $125.0 million was issued at a price equal to 99.875% of its face value, while the additional $200.0 million was issued at a price equal to 99.0% of its face value.
The proceeds from the March 2024 additional Term Loan were used for the acquisition of Satelles on April 1, 2024. In April 2024, we drew down $50.0 million on our Revolving Facility for general corporate purposes, including the funding of repurchases of our common stock. This amount was repaid with the expansion of the Term Loan in July 2024, and there were no amounts outstanding under the Revolving Facility as of December 31, 2024. The remaining proceeds from the July 2024 additional Term Loan have been used for general corporate purposes, including share repurchases.
The Term Loan has been repriced on several occasions, most recently in June 2024, and currently bears interest at an annual rate equal to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, plus 2.25%, with a 0.75% SOFR floor. We typically select a one-month interest period, with the result that interest is calculated using one-month SOFR. Interest is paid monthly on the last business day of the month. Principal payments, payable quarterly, equal $18.3 million per annum, which is one percent of the full principal amount of the Term Loan, with the remaining principal due upon maturity.
The Revolving Facility bears interest at an annual rate of SOFR plus 2.25% (but without a SOFR floor) if and as drawn, with no original issue discount, a commitment fee of 0.5% per year on the undrawn amount, which is reduced to 0.375% if we have a consolidated first lien net leverage ratio, as defined in the Credit Agreement, of less than 3.5 to 1. The Revolving Facility has a maturity date in September 2028. See Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements included in this annual report for further discussion of our Term Loan and Revolving Facility.
As of December 31, 2024, we reported an aggregate balance of $1,807.7 million in borrowings under the Term Loan, before $16.9 million of net deferred financing costs, for a net principal balance of $1,790.9 million outstanding in our consolidated balance sheet. Our Revolving Facility was undrawn as of December 31, 2024.
Our Term Loan contains no financial maintenance covenants. With respect to the Revolving Facility, we are required to maintain a consolidated first lien net leverage ratio of no greater than 6.25 to 1 if more than 35% of the Revolving Facility has been drawn, or subject to letter of credit exposure. As of December 31, 2024, the aggregate exposure under the Revolving Facility was less than 35%. The Credit Agreement contains other customary representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants, and events of default.
The Credit Agreement restricts our ability to incur liens, engage in mergers or asset sales, pay dividends, repay subordinated indebtedness, incur indebtedness, make investments and loans, and engage in other transactions as specified in the Credit Agreement. The Credit Agreement provides for specified exceptions, including baskets measured as a percentage of trailing
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twelve months of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, and unlimited exceptions in the case of incurring indebtedness and liens and making investments, dividend payments, and payments of subordinated indebtedness, based on achievement and maintenance of specified leverage ratios. The Credit Agreement permits repayment, prepayment, and repricing transactions, subject, in the case of the Term Loan, to a 1% penalty in the event the Term Loan is prepaid or repriced within the first six months from the refinancing date. The Credit Agreement also contains a mandatory prepayment sweep mechanism with respect to a portion of our excess cash flow (as defined in the Credit Agreement) in the event our consolidated first lien net leverage ratio rises above 3.5 to 1. Our mandatory excess cash flow prepayment, as specified in the Credit Agreement, was $28.6 million as of December 31, 2024. This amount is scheduled to be paid in 2025 and will be applied towards our required quarterly principal payments. As such, it was classified under current short-term secured debt in our consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2024. The Credit Agreement permits repayment, prepayment, and repricing transactions. We were in compliance with all covenants under the Credit Agreement as of December 31, 2024.
Derivative Financial Instruments
In July 2021, we entered into an interest rate cap agreement, or the Cap, that began in December 2021. The Cap manages our exposure to interest rate movements on a portion of the Term Loan through November 2026. The Cap, which was not affected by the refinancing of the Term Loan in September 2023 or the 2024 increases and repricing, is designed to mirror the terms of the Term Loan and to offset the cash flows being hedged. We designated the Cap as a cash flow hedge of the variability of the SOFR-based interest payments on the Term Loan. The effective portion of the Cap’s change in fair value is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified into earnings during the period in which the hedged transaction affects earnings.
The Cap provides us the right to receive payment from the counterparty if one-month SOFR exceeds 1.436%. We began paying a fixed monthly premium based on an annual rate of 0.31% for the Cap in December 2021. The Cap carried a notional amount of $1.0 billion as of December 31, 2024 and 2023.
See Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for further discussion of our derivative financial instruments.
Total Interest on Debt and Loss on Extinguishment
Total interest incurred includes amortization of deferred financing fees and capitalized interest. We incurred third-party financing costs of $2.3 million in connection with the expansion of the Term Loan in July 2024, $1.9 million related to the repricing of the Term Loan in June 2024 and $1.6 million in connection with the expansion of the Term Loan in March 2024, substantially all of which we expensed as incurred. Due to the refinancing of the Term Loan in 2023, we incurred third-party financing costs of $15.9 million, of which $14.7 million was expensed. These costs are included within interest expense on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).
Total interest incurred during the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 was $102.8 million, $102.3 million and $72.1 million, respectively. Interest incurred includes amortization of deferred financing fees of $2.7 million, $4.0 million and $4.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Interest capitalized during the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 was $5.0 million, $5.1 million and $2.6 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, accrued interest on the Term Loan was $0.3 million and $1.0 million, respectively.
Material Trends and Uncertainties
Our industry and customer base have historically grown as a result of:
•demand for remote and reliable mobile communications services;
•a growing number of new products and services and related applications;
•a broad wholesale distribution network with access to diverse and geographically dispersed niche markets;
•increased demand for communications services by disaster and relief agencies and emergency first responders;
•improved data transmission speeds for mobile satellite service offerings;
•regulatory mandates requiring the use of mobile satellite services;
•a general reduction in prices of mobile satellite services and subscriber equipment; and
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•geographic market expansion through the ability to offer our services in additional countries.
Nonetheless, we face a number of challenges and uncertainties in operating our business, including:
•our ability to maintain the health, capacity, control and level of service of our satellites;
•our ability to develop and launch new and innovative products and services;
•changes in general economic, business and industry conditions, including the effects of currency exchange rates;
•our reliance on a single primary commercial gateway and a primary satellite network operations center;
•competition from other mobile satellite service providers and, to a lesser extent, from the expansion of terrestrial-based cellular phone systems and related pricing pressures;
•market acceptance of our products;
•regulatory requirements in existing and new geographic markets;
•challenges associated with global operations, including as a result of conflicts in or affecting markets in which we operate;
•rapid and significant technological changes in the telecommunications industry;
•our ability to generate sufficient internal cash flows to repay our debt;
•reliance on our wholesale distribution network to market and sell our products, services and applications effectively;
•reliance on a global supply chain, including single-source suppliers for the manufacture of most of our subscriber equipment and for some of the components required in the manufacture of our end-user subscriber equipment and our ability to purchase component parts that are periodically subject to shortages resulting from surges in demand, natural disasters or other events, including a global pandemic, such as COVID-19; and
•reliance on a few significant customers, particularly agencies of the U.S. government, for a substantial portion of our revenue, as a result of which the loss or decline in business with any of these customers may negatively impact our revenue and collectability of related accounts receivable.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires the use of estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to revenue recognition, income taxes, useful lives of property and equipment, loss contingencies, and other estimates. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
The accounting policies we believe to be most critical to understanding our financial results and condition and that require complex and subjective management judgments are discussed below. Our accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements included in this report.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes using the asset and liability approach. This approach requires that we recognize deferred tax assets
and liabilities based on differences between the financial statement bases and tax bases of our assets and liabilities. Deferred tax
assets and liabilities are recorded based upon enacted tax rates for the period in which the deferred tax items are expected to
reverse. Changes in tax laws or tax rates in various jurisdictions are reflected in the period of change. Significant judgment is
required in the calculation of our tax provision and the resulting tax liabilities as well as our ability to realize our deferred tax
assets. Our estimates of future taxable income and any changes to such estimates can significantly impact our tax provision in a
given period. Significant judgment is required in determining our ability to realize our deferred tax assets related to federal,
state and foreign tax attributes within their carryforward periods including estimating the amount and timing of the future
reversal of deferred tax items in our projections of future taxable income. A valuation allowance is established to reduce
deferred tax assets to the amounts we expect to realize in the future. We also recognize tax benefits related to uncertain tax
positions only when we estimate that it is “more likely than not” that the position will be sustainable based on its technical
merits. If actual results are not consistent with our estimates and assumptions, this may result in material changes to our income
tax provision.
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Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Property and equipment are depreciated or amortized over their estimated useful lives. We apply judgment in determining the useful lives based on factors such as engineering data, our long-term strategy for using the assets, the manufacturer’s estimated design life for the assets, laws and regulations that could impact the useful lives of the assets and other economic factors. In evaluating the useful lives of our satellites, we assess the current estimated operational life of the satellites, including the potential impact of environmental factors on the satellites, ongoing operational enhancements and software upgrades. Additionally, we review engineering data relating to the operation and performance of our satellite network.
We depreciate our satellites over the shorter of their potential operational life or the period of their expected use. The appropriateness of the useful lives is evaluated on a quarterly basis or as events occur that require additional assessment. The upgraded satellites that have been placed into service are depreciated using the straight-line method over their respective estimated useful lives. If the estimated useful lives of our upgraded satellites change, it could have a material impact on the timing of the recognition of depreciation expense and hosted payload revenue.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, we updated our estimate of the satellites’ remaining useful lives based on the health of the constellation, resulting in an extension from 12.5 years to 17.5 years. If our actual operational results are not consistent with our estimates and assumptions, however, we may experience further changes in depreciation and amortization expense that could be material to our results of operations. See Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements included in this report for further detail on the impact of this change.
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Comparison of Our Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of Total Revenue | % of Total Revenue | Change | ||||||||||||||||||
| ($ In thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | Dollars | Percent | ||||||||||||||||
| Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Service revenue | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Commercial | $ | 508,618 | 61 | % | $ | 478,454 | 61 | % | $ | 30,164 | 6 | % | ||||||||
| Government | 106,296 | 13 | % | 106,000 | 13 | % | 296 | 0 | % | |||||||||||
| Total service revenue | 614,914 | 74 | % | 584,454 | 74 | % | 30,460 | 5 | % | |||||||||||
| Subscriber equipment | 91,416 | 11 | % | 105,136 | 13 | % | (13,720) | (13) | % | |||||||||||
| Engineering and support services | 124,352 | 15 | % | 101,133 | 13 | % | 23,219 | 23 | % | |||||||||||
| Total revenue | 830,682 | 100 | % | 790,723 | 100 | % | 39,959 | 5 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| and amortization) | 178,140 | 22 | % | 158,710 | 20 | % | 19,430 | 12 | % | |||||||||||
| Cost of subscriber equipment | 52,427 | 6 | % | 66,410 | 8 | % | (13,983) | (21) | % | |||||||||||
| Research and development | 28,422 | 3 | % | 20,269 | 3 | % | 8,153 | 40 | % | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | 168,182 | 20 | % | 143,706 | 18 | % | 24,476 | 17 | % | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 203,127 | 25 | % | 320,000 | 41 | % | (116,873) | (37) | % | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | 630,298 | 76 | % | 709,095 | 90 | % | (78,797) | (11) | % | |||||||||||
| Operating income | 200,384 | 24 | % | 81,628 | 10 | % | 118,756 | 145 | % | |||||||||||
| Other expense: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense, net | (91,134) | (11) | % | (90,387) | (11) | % | (747) | 1 | % | |||||||||||
| Other income, net | 534 | 0 | % | 4,012 | 1 | % | (3,478) | (87) | % | |||||||||||
| Total other expense | (90,600) | (11) | % | (86,375) | (10) | % | (4,225) | 5 | % | |||||||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes and equity in net earnings of affiliates | 109,784 | 13 | % | (4,747) | 0 | % | 114,531 | 2,413 | % | |||||||||||
| Income tax (expense) benefit | (12,259) | (1) | % | 26,251 | 3 | % | (38,510) | (147) | % | |||||||||||
| Gain (loss) on equity method investments | 15,251 | 2 | % | (6,089) | (1) | % | 21,340 | 350 | % | |||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 112,776 | 14 | % | $ | 15,415 | 2 | % | $ | 97,361 | 632 | % |
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Commercial Service Revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | BillableSubscribers (1) | ARPU (2) | Revenue | BillableSubscribers (1) | ARPU (2) | Revenue | Billable Subscribers | ARPU | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Revenue in millions and subscribers in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commercial services: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Voice and data | $ | 226.1 | 415 | $ | 46 | $ | 219.2 | 408 | $ | 45 | $ | 6.9 | 7 | $ | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| IoT data | 166.2 | 1,887 | $ | 7.70 | 141.0 | 1,709 | $ | 7.45 | 25.2 | 178 | $ | 0.25 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Broadband (3) | 56.1 | 16.6 | $ | 282 | 57.9 | 16.7 | $ | 305 | (1.8) | (0.1) | $ | (23) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hosted payload and other data | 60.2 | N/A | 60.3 | N/A | (0.1) | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total commercial services | $ | 508.6 | 2,319 | $ | 478.4 | 2,134 | $ | 30.2 | 185 |
(1)Billable subscriber numbers are shown as of the end of the respective period.
(2)Average monthly revenue per unit, or ARPU, is calculated by dividing revenue in the respective period by the average of the number of billable subscribers at the beginning of the period and the number of billable subscribers at the end of the period and then dividing the result by the number of months in the period. Billable subscriber and ARPU data is not applicable for hosted payload and other data service revenue items.
(3)Commercial broadband consists of Iridium OpenPort and Iridium Certus broadband services.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, total commercial service revenue increased $30.2 million, or 6%, primarily as a result of increases in IoT and voice and data services revenue. Commercial IoT revenue increased $25.2 million, or 18%, compared to the prior year, driven by a 10% increase in IoT billable subscribers primarily in users of personal communications devices, and a new contract with a large customer executed in the first quarter of 2024. Commercial voice and data revenue increased $6.9 million, or 3%, from the prior year primarily due to an increase in billable subscribers. Commercial broadband revenue decreased $1.8 million, or 3%, compared to the prior year, due to a decrease in ARPU reflecting the increased prevalence of usage of our service as a companion service. Hosted payload and other service revenue decreased $0.1 million, reflecting the quarterly year-over-year decrease due to the change in the estimated useful lives of our satellites made in the fourth quarter of 2023, offset in part by increases in other data service revenue including Satelles revenue.
Government Service Revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | |||||||||||||||
| Revenue | BillableSubscribers (1) | Revenue | BillableSubscribers (1) | Revenue | Billable Subscribers | ||||||||||||
| (Revenue in millions and subscribers in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Government service revenue | $ | 106.3 | 141 | $ | 106.0 | 145 | $ | 0.3 | (4) |
(1)Billable subscriber numbers shown are at the end of the respective period.
We provide airtime and airtime support to U.S. government and other authorized customers pursuant to our Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services, or EMSS, contract. Under the terms of this agreement, which we entered into in September 2019, authorized customers utilize specified Iridium airtime services provided through the U.S. government’s dedicated gateway. The fee is not based on subscribers or usage, allowing an unlimited number of users access to these services. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024 rose slightly reflecting a contractual step up in the EMSS contract on September 15, 2024.
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Subscriber Equipment Revenue
Subscriber equipment revenue decreased $13.7 million, or 13%, to $91.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the prior year, primarily due to a decrease in the volume of handset sales, offset in part by an increase in Short Burst Data sales. The overall decrease was is in line with our previously announced expectations, as we returned to more normal levels after the supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic. We expect equipment revenue in 2025 to be in line with 2024.
Engineering and Support Service Revenue
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | ||||||||
| (In millions) | ||||||||||
| Commercial | $ | 7.3 | $ | 11.0 | $ | (3.7) | ||||
| Government | 117.0 | 90.1 | 26.9 | |||||||
| Total | $ | 124.3 | $ | 101.1 | $ | 23.2 |
Engineering and support service revenue increased by $23.2 million, or 23%, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the prior year primarily due to the increased work under certain government projects, predominantly the contract awarded by the Space Development Agency, or the SDA, offset in part by decreases in commercial engineering projects. We expect engineering and support service revenue to be higher in 2025 than in 2024.
Operating Expenses
Cost of Services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)
Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) includes the cost of network engineering and operations staff, including contractors, software maintenance, product support services, and cost of services for government and commercial engineering and support service revenue.
Cost of services (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) increased by $19.4 million, or 12%, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the prior year, primarily as a result of increased work under certain government projects, including the SDA contract, as noted above.
Cost of Subscriber Equipment
Cost of subscriber equipment includes the direct costs of equipment sold, which consist of manufacturing costs, allocation of overhead, and warranty costs.
Cost of subscriber equipment decreased $14.0 million, or 21%, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the prior year period primarily due to the decrease in volume of device sales, as described above, and decreased inventory component costs.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses increased by $8.2 million, or 40%, for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to the prior year period based on increased spending by Satelles since its acquisition and other device-related features for our network, including Project Stardust, which is our multi-year project to develop Iridium NTN DirectSM, our standards-based Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and Non-Terrestrial Network (NB-NTN) messaging and SOS capabilities for smartphones, tablets, cars and related consumer applications.
Selling, General and Administrative
Selling, general and administrative expenses that are not directly attributable to the sale of services or products include sales and marketing costs as well as employee-related expenses (such as salaries, wages, and benefits), legal, finance, information technology, facilities, billing and customer care expenses.
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Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $24.5 million, or 17%, for the year ended December 31, 2024, primarily due to personnel costs from increased headcount and related costs, including higher employee stock-based compensation expense, increased expense from Satelles and related acquisition costs and certain costs that were previously recorded in cost of services, offset in part by a decrease in regulatory fees, decreased spending related to our channel partner conference which was held in the first quarter of the prior year and a decrease in stock appreciation rights expense in the current year resulting from a decrease in our stock valuation between the years.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization expense decreased by $116.9 million, or 37%, for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the prior year, primarily due to the change in estimated useful lives of our satellites during the fourth quarter of 2023 and the write-off of our final ground spare, that resulted in accelerated depreciation of $37.5 million in the second quarter of 2023. We expect that depreciation expense will generally remain in line with 2024 depreciation expense for the remainder of the estimated useful lives.
Other Expense
Interest Expense, net
Interest expense, net, for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $91.1 million, compared to $90.4 million for the prior year. Interest expense, net in the current year reflects the higher average outstanding debt balance, offset in part by a $9.1 million decrease in repricing fees and the reduced interest rate in the current year.
Other Income, net
Other income, net, was $0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $4.0 million for the prior year. The prior year balance was primarily the result of a one-time customer contractual settlement which resulted in recognition of $3.5 million of other income in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Income Tax Benefit (Expense)
For the year ended December 31, 2024, our income tax expense was $12.3 million, compared to income tax benefit of $26.3 million for the prior year. Our effective tax rate was approximately 11.2% for the year ended December 31, 2024 compared to 553.0% for the prior year. The decrease in income tax benefit is primarily related to the net impact of (i) pre-tax book income in the current year compared to pre-tax book loss in the prior year, (ii) a decrease in estimated R&D credits, (iii) an increased stock compensation tax expense, and (iv) a tax benefit for the Foreign Derived Intangible Income deduction. If our current estimates change in future periods, the impact on the deferred tax assets and liabilities may change correspondingly. See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements for more detail on the individual items impacting our effective tax rate for the years.
Gain (Loss) on Equity Method Investments
For the year ended December 31, 2024, our gain on equity method investments was $15.3 million, compared to a loss of $6.1 million in the prior year. The gain in 2024 primarily reflects the acquisition of Satelles, as we recorded a $19.8 million gain on our pre-acquisition equity method investment in Satelles, offset in part by the portion of losses recorded on other equity method investments. The prior year reflects the portion of losses recorded on equity method investments, including Satelles, during the period.
Net Income
Net income was $112.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to $15.4 million during the prior year. The improvement primarily resulted from the decrease in depreciation expense, an increase in revenues, and the gain on equity method investments, as noted above, offset in part by an increase in income taxes and an increase in operating expenses other than depreciation.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our primary sources of liquidity are cash provided by operations, cash and cash equivalents and our Revolving Facility. At December 31, 2024, we had $1.8 billion of indebtedness, consisting exclusively of amounts outstanding under the Term Loan,
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the terms of which are described above under the section captioned “Term Loan.” We have additional borrowing available to us under our Revolving Facility of $100.0 million at December 31, 2024. These sources are expected to meet our short-term and long-term liquidity needs, including annual payments for (i) required principal and interest on the Term Loan, which we expect to be $33.1 million inclusive of the mandatory excess cash flow prepayment in 2025, and, based on the current interest rate, approximately $96.0 million, respectively, (ii) capital expenditures, of approximately $90.0 million in 2025 and moderating through the end of the decade, (iii) working capital, (iv) potential share repurchases, and (v) anticipated cash dividend payments to holders of our common stock.
As of December 31, 2024, our total cash and cash equivalents balance was $93.5 million, up from $71.9 million as of December 31, 2023. The increase was principally the result of additional Term Loan borrowings in 2024, offset in part by an increase in share repurchases.
Contractual Obligations
As of December 31, 2024, we held non-cancelable purchase obligations of approximately $9.3 million for inventory purchases with Benchmark, our primary third-party equipment supplier. Our purchase obligations, all of which are due during 2025, decreased $12.2 million from the end of 2023 primarily due to recovery from supply chain constraints.
Our material long-term cash requirement is the repayment of the remaining principal amount under the Term Loan upon its maturity in 2030, which is expected to be $1,702.8 million. We expect to refinance this amount at or prior to maturity.
Dividends
On December 8, 2022, our Board of Directors initiated a quarterly dividend. For each quarter through March 2024, our Board of Directors declared and paid a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.13 per share of common stock. Beginning in June 2024, the Board of Directors increased the quarterly cash dividend to $0.14 per share of common stock for each quarter through December 2024. Total dividends paid in 2024 were $64.7 million, while total dividends in 2023 were $64.8 million. While we expect to continue the regular cash dividend program, any future dividends declared will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend, among other factors, upon our results of operations, financial condition and cash requirements, as well as such other factors our Board of Directors deems relevant.
Cash Flows - Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
The following table shows our consolidated cash flows:
| Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statement of Cash Flows | 2024 | 2023 | Change | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 375,955 | $ | 314,913 | $ | 61,042 | |||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | $ | (180,603) | $ | (83,487) | $ | (97,116) | |||||
| Net cash used in financing activities | $ | (170,481) | $ | (327,052) | $ | 156,571 |
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased $61.0 million from the prior year. Cash flows related to changes in working capital increased by approximately $58.7 million, primarily as a result of changes in inventory, offset by corresponding decreases in accounts payable and accrued expenses. In 2023, we replenished finished goods and component inventory, including last time buys. These changes were partially offset by net income, as adjusted for non-cash activities, which decreased by $2.4 million over the prior year. Net income in 2023 was adjusted for non-cash, positive adjustments, including depreciation expense associated with the write-off of the remaining spare satellite in the third quarter, and stock-based compensation expense.
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased $97.1 million from the prior year period primarily as a result of our acquisition of Satelles on April 1, 2024, offset in part by a decrease in capital expenditures compared to the prior year. We expect our capital expenditures to be $90.0 million in 2025 and moderate through the end of the decade.
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Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 decreased $156.6 million compared to the prior year period primarily due to the additional $325.0 million in borrowings under the Term Loan, offset in part by increased repurchases of our common stock.
Seasonality
Our results of operations have been subject to seasonal usage changes for commercial customers, and we expect that our results will be affected by similar seasonality going forward. March through October are typically the peak months for commercial voice services revenue and related subscriber equipment sales. In December 2024, a large IoT customer began to phase out its annual retail pricing plans. As a result, that customer’s annual billable subscribers will move to monthly plans, which we expect to increase seasonality in billable subscribers. We expect revenue to remain unaffected due to the fixed-price nature of our contract with this customer for 2025. U.S. government revenue and commercial IoT revenue have been less subject to seasonal usage changes.