1. Organization and Basis of Presentation

Iridium Communications Inc. (the “Company”) was initially formed in 2007 as GHL Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. The Company acquired, directly and indirectly, all the outstanding equity of Iridium Holdings LLC in a transaction accounted for as a business combination on September 29, 2009 (the “Acquisition”). In accounting for the Acquisition, the Company was deemed the legal and accounting acquirer. On September 29, 2009, as a result of the Acquisition, the Company changed its name to Iridium Communications Inc.

The Company is a provider of mobile voice and data communications services on a global basis using a constellation of low-earth orbiting satellites. The Company holds various licenses and authorizations from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) and from foreign regulatory bodies that permit the Company to conduct its business, including the operation of its satellite constellation.

2. Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation

The Company has prepared its condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of (i) the Company, (ii) its wholly owned subsidiaries, and (iii) all less than wholly owned subsidiaries that the Company controls. All material intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.

In the opinion of management, the condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all normal recurring adjustments that the Company considers necessary for the fair presentation of its results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods covered, and of the financial position of the Company at the date of the interim condensed consolidated balance sheet. The operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the entire year. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to instructions, rules and regulations prescribed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). While the Company believes that the disclosures are adequate to make the information not misleading, these interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the 2011 annual consolidated financial statements and notes included in its Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 6, 2012.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The cash and cash equivalents balances at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 consisted of cash deposited in institutional money market funds, regular interest bearing and non-interest bearing depository accounts and certificates of deposit with commercial banks. The Company is required to maintain a minimum cash reserve for debt service related to the $1.8 billion loan facility (the “Credit Facility”). As of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the Company’s restricted cash balance, which represents a minimum cash reserve for debt service related to the Credit Facility and any interest earned on these amounts, was $40.6 million and $27.2 million, respectively.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is the price that would be received from the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability assuming an orderly transaction in the most advantageous market at the measurement date. U.S. GAAP establishes a hierarchical disclosure framework which prioritizes and ranks the level of observability of inputs used in measuring fair value.

The fair values of short-term financial instruments (primarily cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities, and deferred revenue) approximated their carrying values as of the dates of the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets because of their short-term nature.

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation at fair value. The fair value of stock options is determined at the grant date using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The fair value of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) is equal to the closing price of the underlying common stock on the grant date. The fair value of an award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service or performance period and is classified in the statement of operations in a manner consistent with the classification of the employee’s or non-employee director’s compensation. Stock-based awards to non-employee consultants are expensed at their fair value as services are provided according to the terms of their agreements and are classified in selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Non-employee directors elected to receive a portion of their 2012 annual compensation in the form of equity awards, in an aggregate of approximately 106,000 stock options and 106,000 RSUs. These stock options and RSUs were granted in January 2012 and vest over a one-year period with 25% vesting on the last day of each calendar quarter. The estimated aggregate grant-date fair value of the stock options was $0.3 million. The estimated aggregate grant-date fair value of the RSUs was $0.8 million.

During the three months ended March 31, 2012, the Company granted approximately 599,000 stock options, 570,000 service-based RSUs, and 234,000 performance-based RSUs to its employees. Employee stock options and service-based RSUs vest over a four-year service period with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the grant date and the remainder vesting ratably on a quarterly basis thereafter. The performance-based RSUs were awarded to the Company’s executives. Vesting of the performance-based RSUs is dependent upon the Company’s achievement of certain performance goals over a two-year measurement period. The number of performance-based RSUs that will ultimately vest may range from 0% to 150% of the original grant based on the level of achievement of the performance goals. Provided that the Company achieves the performance goals, 50% of the RSU awards will vest after two years and the remaining 50% after the third year. The Company records stock-based compensation expense related to performance-based RSUs when it is considered probable that the performance conditions will be met. The estimated aggregate grant-date fair values of the stock options, service-based RSUs, and performance-based RSUs granted to employees during the three months ended March 31, 2012 were $2.0 million, $4.3 million, and $1.8 million, respectively.

Warranty Expense

The Company provides the first end-user purchaser of its subscriber equipment a warranty for one to five years from the date of purchase by such first end-user, depending on the product. The Company maintains a warranty reserve based on historical experience of warranty costs and expected occurrences of warranty claims on equipment. Costs associated with warranties, including equipment replacements, repairs, freight, and program administration, are recorded as cost of subscriber equipment. During the three months ended March 31, 2012, certain production issues were identified related to the Iridium Extreme® satellite handset. A reserve for the remediation of these issues contributed $1.2 million to the warranty provision in the quarter. Changes in the warranty reserve during the three months ended March 31, 2012 were as follows:

3. Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments

Thales

In June 2010, the Company executed a primarily fixed-price full-scale development contract (the “FSD”) with Thales Alenia Space France (“Thales”) for the design and build of satellites for Iridium NEXT. The total price under the FSD is $2.2 billion, and the Company expects payment obligations under the FSD to extend into the third quarter of 2017. As of March 31, 2012, the Company had made aggregate payments of $480.5 million to Thales, which were capitalized as construction in progress within property and equipment, net in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

 
SpaceX

In March 2010, the Company entered into an agreement with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (“SpaceX”) to secure SpaceX as the primary launch services provider for Iridium NEXT (the “SpaceX Agreement”). The SpaceX Agreement, as amended, has a maximum price of $492.0 million. As of March 31, 2012, the Company had made aggregate payments of $43.9 million to SpaceX, which were capitalized as construction in progress within property and equipment, net in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Kosmotras

In June 2011, the Company entered into an agreement with International Space Company Kosmotras (“Kosmotras”) as a supplemental launch service provider for Iridium NEXT (the “Kosmotras Agreement”). The Kosmotras Agreement provides for the purchase of up to six launches with options to purchase additional launches.  Each launch could carry two satellites.  If all six launches are purchased, the Company will pay Kosmotras a total of $184.3 million.  As of March 31, 2012, the Company had made aggregate payments of $11.2 million to Kosmotras, which were capitalized as construction in progress within property and equipment, net in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet. If the Company elects to purchase all six launches, the remaining amounts owed under the contract will be paid through 2015 or 2016, depending on the launch schedule.

Based on the terms of the Kosmotras Agreement, if the Company does not purchase any launches by March 31, 2013, the Kosmotras Agreement will terminate and any amounts paid by the Company to Kosmotras in excess of $15.1 million will be refunded.    

Credit Facility

In October 2010, the Company entered into the Credit Facility with a syndicate of bank lenders. The Company had borrowed an aggregate total of $441.1 million and $417.1 million as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively. The unused portion of the Credit Facility as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 was $1.4 billion. Pursuant to the Credit Facility, the Company maintains a minimum cash reserve for repayment. As of March 31, 2012, the minimum required cash reserve balance was $40.5 million. This amount is included in restricted cash in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet. This minimum cash reserve requirement will increase over the term of the Credit Facility and will be $189.0 million at the beginning of the repayment period, which is expected to begin in 2017.

Interest costs incurred under the Credit Facility were $5.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012. All interest costs incurred related to the Credit Facility have been capitalized during the construction period of the assets. The Company pays interest on each semi-annual due date through a combination of a cash payment and a deemed additional loan. The $5.0 million in interest incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2012 consisted of $1.5 million payable in cash and $3.5 million payable by deemed loans. No payments were made during the quarter. Total interest payable associated with the Credit Facility was $7.9 million and is included in interest payable in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2012.

The Company also pays a commitment fee of 0.80% per year, in semi-annual installments, on any undrawn portion of the Credit Facility. Total commitment fee payable on the undrawn portion of the Credit Facility was $5.6 million and is included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2012.

Contingencies

From time to time, in the normal course of business, the Company is party to various pending claims and lawsuits. The Company is not aware of any such actions that it would expect to have a material adverse impact on its business, financial results or financial condition.

4. Equity Transactions

Private Warrant Exchanges

During 2011, the Company entered into several private transactions (the “Private Warrant Exchanges”) to exchange shares of its common stock for outstanding stock purchase warrants to purchase its common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (the “$11.50 Warrants”). As a result of these transactions, the Company issued an aggregate of 1,643,453 shares of its common stock in exchange for an aggregate of 8,167,541 of the $11.50 Warrants.

During 2011, the Company initiated and completed a tender offer to exchange outstanding $11.50 Warrants for shares of its common stock (the “Tender Offer Warrant Exchange”). As a result of the Tender Offer Warrant Exchange, the Company issued an aggregate of 1,303,267 shares of its common stock in exchange for an aggregate of 5,923,963 of the $11.50 Warrants.

As a result of the Private Warrant Exchanges and the Tender Offer Warrant Exchange, approximately 277,000 of the $11.50 Warrants remained outstanding as of March 31, 2012.

5. Net Income Per Share

The computations of basic and diluted net income per share are set forth below:

For the three months ended March 31, 2012, warrants to purchase 0.3 million shares of common stock and stock options to purchase 4.2 million shares of common stock were not included in the computation of diluted net income per share as the effect would be anti-dilutive.

For the three months ended March 31, 2011, warrants to purchase 14.4 million shares of common stock and stock options to purchase 4.5 million shares of common stock were not included in the computation of diluted net income per share as the effect would be anti-dilutive.