ViaSat is reporting record earnings for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2000 ended December 31, 1999. Sales for the quarter were $18.0 million, down 4.7% from $18.9 million for the comparable quarter last year. The Company's net income increased 21.1% to $2.0 million for the third quarter of FY00 compared to net income of $1.7 million for the same quarter last year. Diluted net income per share for the quarter increased to $0.23 based on a weighted average 8.7 million shares compared to a net of $0.20 per share for the third quarter of the prior year on 8.2 million shares. Net income benefited from greater than anticipated R&D tax credits in prior years.

For the nine months ended December 31, 1999 sales totaled $52.1 million, down 2.2% from $53.3 million in sales during the first nine months of FY99. Net income for the nine months ending December 31, 1999 increased 27.0% to $5.6 million, compared to $4.4 million for the first nine months of the prior fiscal year. Diluted net income per share of $0.66 is based on common equivalent shares outstanding of 8.5 million for the nine months ended December 31, 1999 compared to diluted net income per share of $0.54 based on common equivalent shares of 8.2 million for the same period last year.

"The third quarter continued an exciting year for ViaSat," said ViaSat chairman and CEO Mark Dankberg. "Although sales lagged somewhat relative to our plans, we're very pleased with our 27% net earnings growth for the year to date. Commercial satellite network sales have grown significantly this year, contributing over 20% of total revenues. We're earning new contract awards at a record pace this year, including recent wins on MIDS and UHF DAMA modems that we anticipate will boost defense sales in the coming year. Total orders for the year to date are up over 100% compared to FY99."

Backlog
At the close of Q3 the company's backlog of firm orders grew to $77.2 million, compared to $58 million as of December 31, 1998. The total backlog, including options and IDIQ contracts, reached $132.5 million. Current year-to-date firm awards are in excess of $84.5 million. This compares to a total of $38.7 million in firm orders for the first three quarters of the prior fiscal year. Neither figure includes contract options. The sales backlog includes multi-year contracts, some of which extend into the Company's fiscal year 2003 or beyond.

Recent Highlights
Key highlights occurring during the 3rd quarter included:

• Earned our single largest award to date - a five-year contract valued at $36.3 million with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) for broadband Internet Protocol (IP) StarWire equipment and satellite network services for an energy services application. Received a letter contract initiating work on a multi-year $13M program for UHF DAMA modem modules and licensed software for Raytheon Systems Company.
• Won additional StarWire business with Star Cruises and a new contract with Dyncorp for a National Weather Service Weather Wire application.
• Completed the move into our new 180,000 square foot campus in Carlsbad, CA.

ViaSat also recently announced, subsequent to the close of the 3rd quarter:

A definitive agreement to acquire the Satellite Networks division of Scientific Atlanta for $75 million in cash. Initial authorization of $11.7 million in funding from the US Navy for long lead material and non-recurring engineering under a $30+ million contract for MIDS production. This is the beginning of a planned multi-year "continuous competition" for MIDS production units.

Portions of this release, particularly the "Q3 Highlights" section, may contain forward-looking statements regarding future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. We wish to caution you that there are some factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including but not limited to: technologies not being developed according to anticipated schedules, or that do not perform according to expectations; and increased competition and other factors affecting the telecommunications industry generally. We refer you to the documents the Company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the section titled Risk Factors in the Company's Form 10-K, which contain and identify other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements.

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