Global Markets - Latest Developments


Paris, France, July 31, 2013

Eutelsat announced it has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of Satélites Mexicanos, S.A. de C.V. ("Satmex") for an enterprise value of US$1,142 million. This acquisition, together with the recently ordered EUTELSAT 65 West A satellite, will position the group as a major satellite operator in Latin America, reflecting its strategy to expand in high growth markets.

London, UK, July 30, 2013

The GVF-EMP Conference Partnership have announced details of the next programs in their Oil & Gas Communications Conference Series and High Throughput Satellite Roundtable Series, programs which reflect some latest developments in oil and gas industry communications requirements, and in the technological and service delivery capabilities of the world’s leading satellite operators and networking solutions providers.

London, July 30, 2013

The Director and Co-founder of the Space Portal at NASA Ames Research Centre, Dr. Daniel Rasky, will be speaking at the International Space Commerce 2013 Summit to be held on 29th-30th October in London. Alan Brunstrom, the Head of Applications in the Business Office which aims to promote integrated applications at the European Space Agency (ESA) will also be part of the speaking faculty for the ISC2013 Summit and will speak about ESA's applications development programs.

Paris, July 30, 2013

Eutelsat Communications on Tuesday reported a 5.1 percent increase in revenues to €1,284 million (US$1,703 million) and operating income before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of €995.3 million (US$1,320.22 million) equivalent to 77.5 percent margins for fiscal year 2012-2013.

The board recommended dividends of €1.08 (US$1.43) per share representing a payout of 67 percent.

The favourable results prompted the company to raise outlook to over 2.5 percent revenue growth for 2013–2014 and an average of over 5 percent for the two following years until 30 June 2016.

Saltaire, UK, July 30, 2013

British set-top box maker Pace Plc said profits in the first half more than tripled, driven by continuing demand for its media-server products in North America and Latin American markets, which offset some softness in Europe.

Revenue grew 31 percent to $1.318 billion compared with $1.006 billion at this point last year. Profit rose by $35.1 million (57 percent) and adjusted EBITA rose to $96.7 million, delivering $92 million of free cash flow, a 95.1 percent adjusted EBITA to cash conversion ratio.

July 30, 2013, Germantown, Md.

Hughes Network Systems announced today that it has achieved carrier data rates exceeding 1 Gbps on its JUPITER System. Hughes believes this achievement to be a technology first for High Throughput Satellite (HTS) systems, resulting in more subscribers per satellite and greater capacity per subscriber.

Annapolis, MD., July 26, 2013

TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS)  reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013. Revenue was US$ 92.8 million, down 19% due mainly to lower government pass-through sales. Gross profit was up 4% to US$ 35.9 million.

Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and amortization of non-cash stock-based compensation) was US$ 6.9 million, down 17% from US$ 8.4 million (see discussion about the presentation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income, both non-GAAP terms, below).

Luxembourg, July 26, 2013

SES S.A. reported slightly higher revenues of €910.5 million (US$1.207 billion) for the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year, and a flat operating profit of €408.6 million (US$541.85 million) during the first half of the year compared to €411.5 million (US$545.78 million) during the same period last year.

Falls Church, Va., July 25, 2013

Northrop Grumman reported earnings and revenues that surpassed analysts' expectations, posting a 1.7 percent rise in second-quarter earnings as the defense company posted modestly stronger revenues. Northrop reported a profit of US$ 488 million, or US$ 2.05 a share, up from US$ 480 million, or US$ 1.88 a share, a year earlier.  Revenue increased to US$ 6.29 billion from US$ 6.27 billion a year ago.

Chicago, Ill., July 25, 2013

Boeing Co. reported  second-quarter profit increased 13 percent to US$ 2.0 billion from the same period last year driven by strong performance across the company's businesses, particularly sales of sales of commercial airplanes and exports of military equipment.