DULLES, Va., March 10  -- GeoEye, Inc. (Nasdaq: GEOY), a premier provider of satellite, aerial and geospatial information, announced today results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2009.

"We're very pleased with our fiscal 2009 financial and operating results. We experienced strong year-over-year revenue growth, cash flow growth and solid operating performance in our business," said Matt O'Connell, chief executive officer and president. "Our team is very focused on continuing to deliver high-quality imagery and business solutions to our government and commercial customers, expanding our offerings and adding new customers."

FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

Total revenues were $73.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, an 80.0 percent increase from $40.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2008. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $11.7 million, or $0.55 per fully diluted share, compared to a net loss of $3.6 million, or a loss of $0.20 per fully diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2008. The 2009 fourth quarter earnings included a $27.1 million non-recurring pre-tax loss from the early extinguishment of debt and a tax benefit of $27.7 million. This tax benefit primarily results from the restoration of prior period net operating losses and the loss from the early extinguishment of debt.

Revenues related to contracts with the U.S. Government, the Company's largest customer, were $52.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, representing 71.3 percent of total revenues for the period. Domestic revenues were $57.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, which were 78.4 percent of total revenues for the period. These revenues included $37.8 million in revenues from our Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). International revenues were $15.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, which were 21.6 percent of total revenues for the period.

Operating income for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $19.4 million. Operating margin was 26.4 percent for the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to 9.0 percent in the same period in 2008.  Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measurement defined as net income (loss) before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, non-cash stock-based compensation expense and other non-cash, one-time items, increased approximately $27.4 million to approximately $36.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2009 from $9.3 million the same period in 2008. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 50.0 percent for the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to 22.8 percent for the same period in 2008.

The Company ended the fourth quarter of 2009 with cash and cash equivalents of $208.9 million, restricted cash of $65.9 million, a current income tax receivable of $40.2 million, total assets of $947.2 million, debt of $381.1 million and stockholders' equity of $280.0 million.

FULL YEAR RESULTS

Total revenues for the calendar year ended Dec. 31, 2009 were $271.1 million, an 84.9 percent increase from $146.7 million in the calendar year ended Dec. 31, 2008. The Company's adjusted EBITDA for the calendar year ended Dec. 31, 2009 was $132.2 million, an increase of approximately 232.9 percent from the same period in 2008. Net income for the calendar year ended Dec. 31, 2009 was $32.1 million, or $1.55 per fully diluted share, as compared to net income of $26.6 million, or $1.36 per fully diluted share, in the same period of 2008. The 2009 net income included $27.1 million non-recurring loss from the early extinguishment of debt in the fourth quarter and approximately $29.5 million of tax benefits primarily associated with restoring net operating losses and the loss from the early extinguishment of debt.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The Company generated strong revenues from our NGA contract during fiscal 2009, which was attributable to the Company's GeoEye-1 Earth-imaging satellite. The Company also received an extension to its existing SLA with the NGA through June 30, 2010, with six one-month options that could extend the agreement through December 2010.

In addition, the Company is currently participating in the NGA's EnhancedView request-for-proposal (RFP) contracting process. This program will allow the U.S. Government to continue to receive a supply of unclassified, highly accurate satellite imagery from commercial satellite imagery providers and contemplates the construction of additional satellites. The Company filed its response, as required by the RFP process, on March 8, 2010. The Company expects the NGA to make an EnhancedView award in the June timeframe.

During the RFP process, the U.S. Government added a requirement that bidders who want the U.S. Government to provide a cost share under the program have to provide a letter of credit in an amount equal to the cost share. As a result, in order to provide the collateral necessary to support the letter of credit, on March 4, 2010 GeoEye entered into a binding commitment letter with Cerberus Capital Management L.P. ("Cerberus") to issue preferred stock and senior unsecured notes to Cerberus, the proceeds of which will be used for the development and launch of GeoEye-2. The commitment is subject to the Company winning an EnhancedView award to build a new satellite and requires Cerberus to purchase $115 million in preferred stock and provide debt financing of up to $100 million, with the debt financing drawable at the Company's option.  If the Company is awarded the EnhancedView Imagery Acquisition Contract without the letter of credit requirement, the Company will no longer be obligated to issue 115,000 shares of preferred stock to Cerberus, but Cerberus will have the option to purchase $80 million in preferred stock.  The Company was advised in this process by Convergence Advisors LLC.

"The Cerberus commitment gives the Company a fully financed proposal, including the full funding of the letter of credit as required by the RFP, which the Company believes enhances our ability to win an EnhancedView contract," said O'Connell. "After our due diligence of Cerberus and other potential financial partners, the Board of Directors concluded that the Cerberus team was the best fit for the Company and would be strongly committed to the long-term growth of GeoEye."

The Company also successfully completed a $400 million notes offering that closed in October 2009. This notes offering enabled the Company to refinance its high-yield debt and to lower its interest rates by over 200 basis points.

FISCAL YEAR 2010 FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

GeoEye currently expects fiscal 2010 revenue to range from $300 million to $320 million, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $145 million to $160 million.  The Company projects pro forma fully diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.40 to $1.70 per share. This projection includes additional shares of approximately 3.9 million preferred shares projected to be issued to Cerberus in June 2010.  These estimates represent management's current expectations about the Company's future financial performance, based on information available at this time.

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 year ended Dec. 31, 2009.

When: March 11, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time

To Participate:  Callers wishing to participate on the conference call may dial 1-631-291-4808 at least 10 minutes prior to the start time. Domestic callers who wish to listen may dial toll-free at 1-877-776-4039. The conference ID number is 56140897. Participants are encouraged to listen via webcast, which will be broadcast live at www.geoeye.com, under Investor Relations.

Replay:  A replay of the teleconference will be available starting at 10:30 a.m. ET, March 11, 2010, and will run until midnight EDT on Friday, March 19. To access the replay, please dial (800) 642-1687. The conference ID number for the replay is 56140897.