Germany lifts SES 3Q results

A new contract with Sky Deutschland and strong sales of the HD+ platform in Germany helped boost satellite operator SES’s European performance in the third quarter.

The operator reported that the HD+ platform now has 2.9 million customers, including 1.6 million paying customers, with the balance taking advantage of a free introductory offer. SES has added new services to HD+, including the HD+ Replay catch-up service, which has now expanded, adding catch-up content frm Sixx, Sat.1 Gold, ProSieben Maxx and TLC and taking the number of libraries to which users have access to 12.

Overall, European segment revenue for SES rose by 11.2% at constant exchange rates to €757.8 million.

Overall, SES’s  revenue grew by 4.7% to €1.407 billion, while EBITDA was up 6% to €1.05 billion, all at constant exchange rates.

North American revenue fell by 13.7% to €252.9 million, largely due to fewer government contracts, while revenue from other territories grew by 7.3% to €395.9 million, driven by digital TV contracts, including its new digital TV platform for West Africa on Astra 2F and new African contracts for the Francophone market at 22° West.

As a result of its improved margin and EBITDA performance, the group has revised its full-year revenue growth guidance to 4% and EBITDA growth to 5%.

SES did not launch any new satellites in the quarter. Forthcoming launches include Astra 2G, which will complete its current replacement cycle at the 28.2/28.5° East position that serves the UK market. This satellite is set to launch in November.