-- Conference Call Scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 8:30 a.m. EDT --

(PRNewswire) — GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY), a leading source of geospatial information and insight, announced today results for its fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2011.

"In 2011, we greatly strengthened our capabilities to deliver geospatial solutions to our many customers around the world," said Matt O'Connell, chief executive officer and president. "We had a record fourth quarter, we won several significant commercial contracts and our GeoEye-2 satellite program remains on schedule and on budget."

FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

Total revenues were $96.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, a 17 percent increase from $82.5 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2010. Net income available to common stockholders for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $14.1 million, or $0.62 per fully diluted share, compared to net income available to common stockholders of $15.2 million, or $0.68 per fully diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2010.

To provide better comparability, we are also providing adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) that excludes non-cash asset write-downs which totaled $4.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Adjusted net income available to common stockholders was $17.2 million, or $0.76 per fully diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2011, versus adjusted net income available to common stockholders of $9.5 million, or $0.42 per fully diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Domestic revenues were $64.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, which were 67 percent of total revenues for the period. International revenues were $32.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, which were 33 percent of total revenues for the period. Domestic revenues increased 7 percent for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to the same period in 2010. International revenues increased 45 percent for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to the same period in 2010.

Operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2011 increased $2.9 million, to $26.6 million, from the $23.7 million reported in the previous year. Operating margin was 27.5 percent for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 28.7 percent for the same period in 2010.

Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measurement defined as net income before interest, net, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization expenses, non-cash recognition of stock compensation expense and other items) increased $7.9 million, to $51.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, from $43.7 million for the same period in 2010. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 53.3 percent for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 53.0 percent for the same period in 2010.

The company ended the fourth quarter of 2011 with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $198.0 million; total assets of approximately $1.3 billion; stockholders' equity of $507.3 million and long-term debt of $511.0 million.

TWELVE MONTH RESULTS

Total revenues for the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2011, were $356.4 million, an 8 percent increase from $330.3 million in the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2010. Domestic revenues were $263.8 million for the fiscal year 2011, which was 74 percent of total revenues for the period. International revenues were $92.6 million for the fiscal year 2011, which was 26 percent of total revenues for the period. The company's Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve-month period ended Dec. 31, 2011, was $183.0 million, an increase of 3.5 percent from the $176.9 million reported in the same period in 2010. Net income available to common stockholders for the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2011, was $46.9 million, or $2.06 per fully diluted share, as compared to net income available to common stockholders of $22.7 million, or $1.02 per fully diluted share, in the same period of 2010.

Adjusted diluted EPS in 2011 excludes the non-cash asset write-downs which totaled $4.1 million in the fourth quarter. Adjusted net income available to common stockholders in 2011 was $50.0 million, or $2.19 per fully diluted share, versus adjusted net income available to common stockholders of $44.3 million, or $1.99 per fully diluted share in 2010. A full reconciliation of our adjusted earnings and adjusted diluted EPS calculations is provided in our attached tables.

RECENT OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

• EnhancedView contract award renewal
  • The EnhancedView Service Level Agreement with the NGA was renewed on Oct. 4, 2011. The current term of the contract runs through Sept. 1, 2012. Eight additional option periods are still outstanding. In the fourth quarter, GeoEye recognized revenues of $37.2 million from our Service Level Agreement with the NGA.
• GeoEye-2 construction
  • During the year, the company invested $268.8 million, which included $44.6 million of capitalized interest for the continued development and construction of the GeoEye-2 satellite. To date, the company has invested $578.7 million in the GeoEye-2 satellite program which includes $63.0 million of capitalized interest. The program remains on time and on budget.
• New business developments
  • Multi-year, multi-million dollar Russian contract with ScanEx - In the fourth quarter, our reseller, ScanEx, signed a multi-year agreement with the Russian cadastre agency that is using our extensive image library for tracking land sales in Russia.
  • New agreement with Esri - In the fourth quarter, we began developing a new Global Crisis Response Service with Esri, the largest worldwide provider of Geographic Information System (GIS) software, for first responders, government agencies and commercial organizations.
  • Expanding relationship with Google - Imagery from GeoEye is now widely available on numerous Google platforms including Google Earth and Google Maps. We added a new premium service on Google Earth Builder platform in the fourth quarter.
  • New multi-million dollar contract win with GE Aviation - In early March, we signed a multi-year agreement that will provide GE Aviation with access to GeoEye's imagery for hundreds of international airports from GeoEye's 3D Airports product family. These GeoEye aeronautical databases will be imbedded into GE Aviation's products and services.

FISCAL YEAR 2012 FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

Our estimates represent management's current expectations about the company's future financial performance, based on information available at this time. Our outlook does not reflect the impact of any potential changes to our U.S. government contracts, which could result from reductions of federal agency budgets currently under deliberation.

For the full year, the company expects revenues to be in the range of $355 to $375 million, with Adjusted EBITDA of $173 to $190 million and earnings per share of $1.95 to $2.35.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

GeoEye Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY), will host a conference call for investors and analysts to discuss financial results for the fourth quarter and 2011 fiscal year, which ended Dec. 31, 2011.

When: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time

To Participate:

To participate in the call via phone, domestic callers may dial toll-free 1-877-776-4039 approximately 10 minutes prior to the start time. International callers may dial 1-631-291-4808. Callers may identify themselves to the operator as GeoEye conference call participants or by using the conference ID number: 42162241. Questions will be accepted from phone participants during the live call after prepared remarks and as time permits.