Share Repurchase Program Authorized by Iridium Board

The board of directors of Iridium has authorized a $400 million common stock share repurchase program. This is the third stock repurchase authorization from the board in the past three years and brings the total value of the program to $1 billion. This $400 million authorization, which is valid through December 31 2025, is also the largest ever approved by the Board of Directors, underscoring the strength of Iridium's business.

"The continued growth of our business, combined with the innovations we've developed on our network, has been a boon to our company and in turn, our shareholders."

Iridium CEO Matt Desch.

Iridium began its share repurchase program with an authorization of $300 million in February of 2021, and a second $300 million authorization in March of 2022. Similar to each previous authorization, share repurchases will be executed with the aim of maximizing return on investment for investors. Iridium continues to target a leverage range of between 2.5 times to 3.5 times operational EBITDA, including the ongoing effects of this repurchase program.

"The continued growth of our business, combined with the innovations we've developed on our network, has been a boon to our company and in turn, our shareholders," said Iridium CEO Matt Desch.

Share Repurchase Program is Flexible

The Company repurchase time frame can be extended or shortened by the Board of Directors, with any potential transactions being made on the open market at prevailing prices or in negotiated transactions off the market.

In May, Iridium launched and deployed five spare satellites, bringing the total number of spare Iridium satellites on orbit to 14. In total, 81 next-generation Iridium satellites were built, and 80 of them have now been deployed. The Iridium constellation remains unique in the industry, featuring 66 operational crosslinked satellites, enabling truly global, weather-resilient connectivity everywhere on Earth.

Recently, the company took a lead role in the burgeoning satellite direct-to-device movement, teaming up with Qualcomm Technologies Inc., to enable satellite SOS and two-way messaging in premium Android smartphones.

The Iridium Certus service, launched in 2019, established a new standard for weather-resilient broadband connectivity with services and equipment that scale in size, weight and power requirements based on the needs of the end-user. It has proven to be ideal for ships, vehicles, aircraft, and particularly UAVs, USVs and other uncrewed autonomous systems.

(Source: Iridium news release and previous reporting. Images from file)