DigitalGlobe is accelerating launch of yet another high-powered satellite in direct response to the U.S. government lifting restrictions on its resolution level, while also lamenting the business blow it suffered in the second quarter because of unrest with Russia.
The Longmont-based company is still on track to launch its WorldView-3 satellite in August, offering customers 30-centimeter resolution for the first time in the U.S. But DigitalGlobe saw demand spike after the U.S. Department of Commerce approved commercial satellite earth imagery of up to 25-centimeter resolution in June.
The satellite can distinguish objects on the ground as small as 1 foot across.
The earth-imagery company believes that pulling GeoEye-2 — now renamed WorldView-4 — out of storage a year earlier than expected furthers its market lead.
WorldView-4, expected to launch in 2016, will also offer 30-centimeter resolution. DigitalGlobe acquired the satellite when it merged with its then-rival GeoEye in 2013.
“We are seeing an uptick in demand and a willingness to pay premium prices (for 30-centimeter imagery),” DigitalGlobe CEO Jeffrey Tarr said during Thursday evening’s earnings call. “Rather than store WorldView-4 on the ground, we will place it on orbit where it can generate revenue.”
DigitalGlobe’s second quarter 2014 revenue increased 5 percent to $157.8 million, compared with the same period last year. The company also reported net income of $5 million.
The earth-imagery company, which is dependent on a few large U.S. government contracts, is trying to transform itself into a geospatial big-data business. But its second-quarter diversified commercial revenue was $62.3 million, an 8 percent decrease from the same period last year.
Tarr said this was because of the geopolitical situation in Russia. Commercial contracts in Russia contributed $23 million in commercial revenue to DigitalGlobe in 2013.
Kristen Leigh Painter: 303-954-1638, kpainter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kristenpainter
