Inaugural ViaSat-3 Launch Now Aiming for Late Summer

The inaugural launch of Viasat's ViaSat-3 high-throughput satellite system will be in late summer, due to supply chain delays, CEO Rick Baldridge said Thursday as Viasat announced Q3 results. He said Viasat's Inmarsat acquisition is progressing, having filed its premerger antitrust notification with DOJ and prepared regulatory filings for jurisdictions around the world. He said close should be by year-end. Baldridge said revenue for the quarter was $720 million, up $144 million year over year, driven by in-flight connectivity growth and its RigNet and EBI acquisitions. Viasat reported 1,800 aircraft receiving the in-flight service, up 53%. Asked during the call with analysts about business enterprise services competition posed by SpaceX, Executive Chairman Mark Dankberg said “it's a very big market” and growing. He said Viasat’s enterprise approach involves more vertical integration beyond just broadband service provision, and Viasat doesn't see material SpaceX competition going forward. Viasat stock closed at $44.02, up 5.6%.