Eutelsat sees solid growth, on target for full year objectives

Satellite operator Eutelsat saw solid growth video and data and value added services revenues in the quarter and nine months to March, with multi-usage revenue declining slightly for both periods.

Reporting its fiscal third quarter results, Eutelsat posted overall revenues of €322.9 million for the quarter, up 4.6%, and nine-months revenues of €956.5 million, up 5%.

CEO Michel de Rosen said the company maintained its revenue objective for the full year, with a likely result at the lower end of the previously stated range of 5-6%. He said group EBITDA margin for the full year was expected to be in the range of 77.5%.

“The performance of Video, our main business, accounting for almost 70% of revenues, was underpinned by sustained demand at key neighbourhoods over Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Multi-usage revenues reflected the impact of US federal budget sequestration which significantly affected the outcome of contract negotiations during the quarter. This was partially offset by the integration of Eutelsat 172A into the fleet,” said De Rosen. “The record order backlog of €5.5 billion was buoyed in particular by new long-term video contracts in North Africa and the Middle East, lending strong visibility on future revenues. We are pursuing our programme to deploy capacity on seven additional satellites by end 2015 to enable us to meet demand in the highest growth applications and regions, with the first, Eutelsat 3D, on track for launch on May 1.”