Eutelsat’s First-Half Satellite Revenues Help Soften Impact of Refinancing Costs
2017-05-15
Eutelsat’s W3C, Atlantic Bird 7 and Ka-Sat satellites have helped the operator increase its 2012 half-year backlog by 9.6 percent — a record for the Paris-based satellite company, according to Eutelsat’s latest financial results issued Feb. 17.
The operator reported a 4.6 percent revenue growth in the first half that ended Dec. 31 to 602.4 million euros ($792.5 million). Eutelsat CEO Michel de Rosen said the new satellites helped anchor its position in the Middle East, Africa, Central Europe and the Indian Ocean Islands.
“We remain on track to deliver annual revenues of more than 1.235 billion euros ($1.62 billion) in the current financial year,” de Rosen said in the report. “This objective is, however, more challenging in view of the current competitive environment in some regions and a partial delay in the rollout of KA-SAT services.”
W3C and Atlantic Bird 7 pushed Eutelsat’s video applications growth to 2.9 percent and grew revenues by 3.5 percent between the 2012 first and second quarters. More than 90 percent of the company’s TV channel growth came from fast-growing markets in North Africa, the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Africa.
Eutelsat also refinanced its business in December. While the costs of that transaction resulted in a 10.1 percent drop in net income to 156.8 million euros ($206.3 million), Eutelsat was able to upgrade its rating with several credit agencies.
