Maritime business boosts core profit at Inmarsat

Reuters: British satellite company Inmarsat Plc reported a slight increase in its quarterly core earnings on growth in its maritime unit.

“Subscriber growth of over 10 percent in the first quarter continues to underpin our expectations for improved results in 2012.” Chief Executive Rupert Pearce said in a statement.

Core earnings at Inmarsat Group rose 1 percent to $205 million in the first quarter.

Total revenue for the company grew 10 percent to $355 million. Revenue in Inmarsat’s maritime unit increased 7 percent to $95.4 million, driven in part by the elimination of volume discounts previously available for older services.

“While economic conditions in shipping remain challenging, we remain comfortable with the customer usage trends we are seeing and have a positive outlook for our maritime business in 2012,” the company said.