SES eyes further growth

Satellite operator SES said it is committed to growing its presence in developed and emerging markets, as it confirmed that its delayed SES-8 satellite will start commercial operations in Q1 2014. 

Announcing its third quarter results, SES said that the launch of SES-6 in June and ASTRA 2E in September had “significantly expanded” its capacity and that it now expects to launch SES-8 on November 22 and ASTRA 5B in early December.

“SES has delivered a robust performance in the year to date. We have increased our capacity and are commercialising new market opportunities. Forthcoming launches will further develop this capability and create the conditions for future growth,” said SES president and CEO Romain Bausch.

“Our European business, which is almost entirely video DTH, continues to grow (revenue +5.6%, when excluding analogue). New business and renewals with major customers, including Sky Deutschland and Arqiva, have contributed to an increase in the contract backlog to €7.4 billion. In the International segment (revenue +12.5%) we have added a number of new DTH platforms, in Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. Although the launch schedule continues to be subject to some delays, total revenue growth (excluding analogue) was 5.7%, with considerable momentum from the video business.”

Overall, SES reported third quarter revenue of €467.7 million, which was flat compared to the same period last year. Operating profit for the quarter was €218.3 million, an increase of 5% on a constant FX basis.