EchoStar Reports Record Results For Fourth Quarter And Year Ended December 31, 1999

EchoStar Communications Corporation (EchoStar) (NASDAQ: DISH, DISHP) reported total revenue of $1.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 1999, compared to $983 million for the corresponding period in 1998. Pre-marketing cash flow totaled $554 million during the year ended December 31, 1999, compared to $300 million during the year ended December 31, 1998. EchoStar continued to experience record-setting DISH Networkô customer growth during the fourth quarter of 1999, adding approximately 438,000 net subscribers for a cumulative total of 3.4 million customers as of December 31, 1999. With record customer growth, EchoStar experienced increased up front acquisition costs, resulting in increased operating and net losses compared to the corresponding period in 1998. Consequently, EchoStar's operating loss for the year ended December 31, 1999, totaled $347 million compared to $123 million reported during the corresponding period in 1998. The company's net losses totaled $793 million and $261 million during those same periods. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the year ended December 31, 1999, totaled negative $173 million, compared to EBITDA of negative $20 million for the corresponding period in 1998. The increased losses principally resulted from EchoStar's continuing strategy to subsidize rapid subscriber acquisition and resulting increases in DISH Network operating expenses. For the three months ended December 31, 1999, EchoStar reported total revenue of $515 million, a 79 percent increase in total revenue as compared to the fourth quarter of 1998. EchoStar also reported pre-marketing cash flow of $164 million for the three months ended December 31, 1999, as compared to $90 million for the corresponding period in 1998. P. As expected, with record subscriber growth, operating and net losses for the quarter ended December 31, 1999 increased as compared to the corresponding period in 1998. EchoStar reported an operating loss of $161 million and $70 million for the three months ended December 31, 1999, and December 31, 1998, respectively. The Company's net losses totaled $220 million and $113 million during those same periods. EBITDA during the fourth quarter of 1999 totaled negative $71 million compared to negative EBITDA of $45 million during the same period in 1998.Key EchoStar Communications Corporation 1999 Highlights- During 1999, more than 1.4 million net new customers were added to DISH Network, an increase of 63 percent from 1998.- After posting a 706.2 percent gain for 1999, EchoStar was included in the NASDAQ-100 Index (NDX) which contains the largest non-financial companies on the NASDAQ Stock Market.- In November, DISH Network became the first DBS service to offer customers their local broadcast channels after President Clinton signed the satellite TV legislation into law.- J.D. Powers and Associates ranked DISH Network number one in overall customer satisfaction in the 1999 Cable/Satellite TV Customer Satisfaction Study and the Consumer Reports customer satisfaction survey rated DISH Network highest in the ""Satellite TV Providers"" category.- In July and October, EchoStar completed two-for-one splits of its outstanding class A and class B common stock.- On September 23, 1999, the Company's fifth high-powered DBS satellite, EchoStar V, was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.For more information about EchoStar, visit the Web site at www.echostar.com.