Losses Pile Up For Gogo Following Costly Investments In In-Flight Wi-Fi Expansion
Gogo raked in record revenue of $104 million for its fiscal third quarter of 2014, up 22 percent year-over-year, however the company has also been spending a great deal on expanding its in-flight Wi-Fi service to more airlines. As a result, Gogo ended up posting a $24.9 million loss for the quarter, or $0.29 per share, compared to a loss of $18.7 million, or $0.22 per share a year ago.
Though the company couldn't manage to climb out of the red, Gogo President and CEO Michael Small was pleased with the performance as he keeps an eye towards long-term growth. In order to set the company up for that, Small has to make investments into getting Gogo's service offered on more airlines.
"We announced airline partnerships with Virgin Atlantic and Vietnam Airlines, signed agreements with Air Canada and AeroMexico, and in October, announced that we expanded our partnership with United Airlines to include its regional jet fleet. Furthermore, we delivered our first $100 million revenue quarter and took major steps towards monetizing everyone on the plane by launching our wireless entertainment and text messaging solutions," Small said in a statement. "We are also extremely pleased that our next generation 2Ku global satellite connectivity technology has already gained significant traction in the market, with long-term commitments from two airlines and plans to conduct trials on three others."
Gogo ended the quarter with 2,044 aircraft online in the North American market, up 33 percent from 2,011 during the same period a year ago. In addition, Virgin Atlantic became the company's first European airline partner. But despite the gains, Gogo is having a tough time getting its investors to see the long-term vision.
Following news of its financial performance, Gogo's stock price fell nearly 7 percent to $15.51 in early morning trading. It's also lost over half of its value since early December of last year.
Though the company couldn't manage to climb out of the red, Gogo President and CEO Michael Small was pleased with the performance as he keeps an eye towards long-term growth. In order to set the company up for that, Small has to make investments into getting Gogo's service offered on more airlines.
"We announced airline partnerships with Virgin Atlantic and Vietnam Airlines, signed agreements with Air Canada and AeroMexico, and in October, announced that we expanded our partnership with United Airlines to include its regional jet fleet. Furthermore, we delivered our first $100 million revenue quarter and took major steps towards monetizing everyone on the plane by launching our wireless entertainment and text messaging solutions," Small said in a statement. "We are also extremely pleased that our next generation 2Ku global satellite connectivity technology has already gained significant traction in the market, with long-term commitments from two airlines and plans to conduct trials on three others."
Gogo ended the quarter with 2,044 aircraft online in the North American market, up 33 percent from 2,011 during the same period a year ago. In addition, Virgin Atlantic became the company's first European airline partner. But despite the gains, Gogo is having a tough time getting its investors to see the long-term vision.
Following news of its financial performance, Gogo's stock price fell nearly 7 percent to $15.51 in early morning trading. It's also lost over half of its value since early December of last year.
