Eutelsat Revenues Up 2.9% to €323.5-Million in 1Q 2013

Paris, France, Oct. 29, 2013 — Fuelled by an increase in data and value-added services, Eutelsat Communications reported on Tuesday revenues of €323.5 (US$444.74 million) for the first quarter ended Sept. 30 2013, up 2.9% from first quarter 2012.

The company also reported a backlog of €5.4 billion (US$7.42 billion), up 3.9 % year-on-year, assuring Eutelsat of reaching its current year and three year targets.

Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat Chairman and CEO, said Eutelsat delivered first quarter 2013-2014 revenues in line with objectives.

“Data and value-added services revenues were up 42% in the quarter. Revenues also factored in the effect of the acquisition of Eutelsat 172A for Data Services and Multi-usage,” he said.

But he acknowledged that the performance of video applications still reflects the company’s lack of available capacity for this activity, which he said will be addressed with future fleet deployments. Eutelsat reported a stable €217.1 million (US$298.5 million) revenues from video applications.

“Our in-orbit resources for North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia markets continues to expand with the entry into service today of the Eutelsat 25B satellite launched in August. Our deployment plan for the remainder of the current and the coming two years is on track, bringing additional capacity that will principally serve video markets in the fastest growing regions, notably Russia, the Middle East and Africa,” Rosen said.

Data services revenues declined by 3.8% to €43.2 million (US$59.39 million), reflecting the on-going competitive environment as point-to-point services continue to be under pressure from the roll-out of terrestrial networks and, specifically in Africa, from the existing supply of satellite capacity.

Value-added services revenues amounted to €23.0 million (US$31.62 million), up 42.4%, with broadband services on KA-SAT performing well, reflecting the continuing success of the intensified marketing efforts and the enhanced broadband offer launched in the last financial year. Around 108,000 terminals were activated at 30 September 2013, from 91,000 at 30 June 2013.

Revenues from multi-usage services stood at €36.8 million (US$50.58 million), up 8.1%, with the integration of Eutelsat 172A into the fleet and new contracts together, more than offsetting the carry forward effect of the February/March 2013 renewal campaign.

The company said its fill rate stood at 75.2% in September 30, 2013, compared to 74.0% at June 30, 2013 and 75.8% at September 30, 2012. The year-on-year evolution reflects the entry into service of new satellites (Eutelsat 21B, Eutelsat 70B and Eutelsat 3D) and the redeployment of Eutelsat 8 West C at the 7°/8° West neighbourhood in mid-September 2013. Eutelsat 25B, launched on 29 August 2013, became operational on 29 October 2013.

Based on its quarter results, Eutelsat confirmed its outlook for the current and next two years to June 2016, with revenue growth above 2.5% for the current year. With the deployment of additional capacity, mainly in 2014 and 2015, average revenue growth should be above 5% for the two subsequent years to 30 June 2016, the company said.

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