News Analysis

Luxembourg, April 30, 2015 – SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) reports financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2015. SES reported revenues of EUR 477.8 million, up 2.6% (down 4.9% at constant FX over prior year and EBITDA of EUR 356.1 million, up 3.2% (down 4.6% at constant FX1) over prior year.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2015 – Arabsat and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) today announced contracts for Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] to manufacture two A2100 communications satellites. In conjunction with the award, Lockheed Martin, KACST and TAQNIA Space Company, a subsidiary of the Saudi Technology Investment and Development Company (TAQNIA), signed an agreement to explore future design, manufacture, assembly and integration of satellites in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Tel Aviv, Israel, April 27, 2015--Spacecom (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: SCC), the operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, today announced that it is focusing more capacity to Nepal on the AMOS-4 satellite located at the 65°E prime orbital position. In the aftermath of Saturday's enormously deadly earthquake, many service providers have been disabled. Spacecom is offering capacity Free of Charge to emergency responders in Nepal, and throughout the affected region. Additionally, the satellite operator is adding capacity on AMOS-4 for SNG operators in the region to enable them to quickly resume their businesses.

Moscow, Russia, April 22, 2015--RSCC's Express-AM6 satellite has completed in-orbit testing and is now operational.  Located at 53˚ E, one of RSCC’s key orbital slots, the Express-AM6 satellite will provide reliable coverage of Russia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Dover, Delaware, April 18, 2015--Startup Australian satellite operator NewSat Ltd. has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US state of Delaware.  Control of the company transitioned from the executive team to bankruptcy managers who immediately filed a restraining order against NewsSat's creditors. 

Las Vegas, April 14, 2015–At the 2015 NAB Show in Las Vegas, six leading satellite operators and manufacturers announced today the formation of the SAT>IP Alliance, formalising a coalition that was initiated last year to develop compatible hardware and software for the SAT>IP technology. The SAT>IP Alliance consists of SES, HISPASAT, Panasonic, NAGRA, ALi Corporation and MaxLinear.

The April 2015  issue of  the  Satellite Executive Briefing magazine  sponsored by The Spaceconnection is now available.  Featuring:

Video interviews with key industry executives from CABSAT 2015  in  Dubai, UAE including Deepak Mathur, Senior Vice-President, Commercial, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East of SES;  Andrey Kirillovich, Director of Integration and Projects of RSCC and Mark Smith, Managing Director, EMEA and Asia-Pacifc of ScheduAll.  To view or download the videos, click here.

Hong Kong, March 26, 2015--Calling 2014 a "year of challenge and transition," Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited (‘AsiaSat’ – SEHK: 1135), reported revenues were down 9% in 2014.  The company reported  turnover of HK$1,365 million in 2014, down 9% from the previous year primarily due to the full-year impact from a renewal and extension in 2013 of agreements with a major customer at reduced rates.

Baikonour Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, March 19, 2015--Lifting off from Baikonur at 01:05 am Moscow Time on Thursday, March 19, the Proton-M integrated launch vehicle (ILV) successfully orbited the Airbus DS–built Express AM-7 telecommunications satellite for Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC), under the Russian Federal Program, “Development of TV and Radio Broadcasting in the Russian Federation for 2009–2015.”