Iridium has been given a two-month deadline by its lenders to prove that it can meet revenue and subscriber targets. The Motorola-owned company has been told that it must have $4 million cash revenues, $30 million in accrued revenues and at least 52,000 customers by 31 May. Iridium had 3,000 subscribers at the end of last year. Shares in the company have dropped by 73% since May.
It attributes its slow customer take-up and reduced revenue generation to problems with the availability of customer equipment and fully trained service providers and sales personnel. The company has notified its bank lenders that it is revising its revenue and customer estimates and that it will request a modification of the minimum revenue and customer-level covenants. Iridium vice-president and chief financial officer Roy Grant has resigned for "personal reasons".
Iridium has launched 86 satellites, 12 of which have failed. The launch of two more satellites on a Long March 2C was called off earlier this month and the spacecraft returned to Lockheed Martin after apparently being exposed to excessive moisture at China's Taiyuan launch site.
Source: Flight International
