Despite turmoil in the worldwide economy, satellite operator SES has posted encouraging results for the nine months ending September 30, 2008. SES (News - Alert) operates mainly through SES Astra in Europe, and SES Americom/New Skies in North and South America, Africa the Middle East and Asia. It also holds stake in other satellite operators, including 90 percent of SES Sirius, and 49 percent in Ciel, as well as in a number of satellite service provision companies.

 

According to Wikipedia, satellite radio — digital signal that is broadcast by a communications satellite — offers an alternative to ground based radio services in some countries, notably the United States where services like Sirius, XM and Worldspace allows listeners to roam across the continent and listen to the same audio programming.

 

SES recorded recurring revenue of €1,186 million, up 7.1 percent against the prior year period. Reported revenue was stable at €1,194.9 million (2007: €1,196.0 million). Its operating profit was seven percent ahead at €507.8 million (2007: €474.7 million) and it posted a net profit of €338.8 million (2007: €347.0 million). The total utilized capacity increased from 820 (June 30) to 821 (September 30) transponders. Utilization rate of the fleet increased to 77.6 percent.

 

 “Our pipeline of ten new and replacement satellites will deliver organic growth, while we continue to seek other opportunities to add to our global coverage,” said  Romain Bausch, president and CEO of SES, in a statement. “In the challenging credit market environment, we are well funded, with resources available to meet our requirements during the next twelve months.”

 

High definition (HD) programming has continued to grow significantly. With 55 HD channels broadcast from its main orbital positions (up from 42 at the end of June), SES ASTRA claims to carry the strongest line-up of HD channels in most of the major European markets.

 

The successful launch of the AMC-21 satellite on August 14 added new, high quality incremental capacity to the AMERICOM fleet. AMC-21 is a high power, 24 transponder, all Ku-band satellite with 50-state U.S. coverage, plus Mexico, southern Canada, Central America and the Caribbean. SES NEW SKIES (News - Alert) built on the successful record of the year to date, with a number of new contracts, in particular for DTH television services, important capacity renewals and extensions, as well as pre-commitments for capacity on the NSS-12 satellite.

Despite the current challenging economic environment, the outlook for the satellite market remains positive. The group remains a very strong cash generator with a solid contract backlog. Financing and financial liquidity are secured through the next twelve months and additional sources of finance are being pursued to provide financing security thereafter.

 

 

 Anita B (News - Alert). is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Anita's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Mae Kowalke