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Eutelsat announces double-digit growth in fixed broadband and mobility in the third quarter

Headquarters of Eutelsat in Paris. Photo: Eutelsat

Communications Eutelsat announced double-digit growth in the fixed broadband and mobility segments in the third quarter of 2022, which the operator said highlights “significant potential” in connectivity.

Eutelsat released its third-quarter financial statements for the 2021-22 fiscal year on May 12, with vertical operating revenue of 284.7 million euros ($296 million), down around 3% from compared to the same period last year.

Broadcasting, Eutelsat’s largest segment, posted revenue of 172.5 million euros ($180 million) in the third quarter, down about 6.8% from the same period last year, like-for-like. This is an improvement from the second quarter, which saw an 8.6% year-over-year decline. Eutelsat said its revenue declined due to a partial capacity renewal with Nilesat and a slight erosion of the underlying business in Europe.

Data & Professional Video reported revenue of €40 million ($42 million), down approximately 3% from the same period last year, like-for-like.

Government services saw the biggest drop from last year’s revenue, at 35 million euros ($26.4 million) in the third quarter, down 11%. This reflects a negative carryover effect from US government renewals, driven by the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

Fixed broadband and mobile connectivity both recorded double-digit growth. Fixed broadband brought in 17 million euros ($17.7 million) in the third quarter, up 30% from the same period last year, like-for-like. The growth reflects the wholesale agreements with TIM and Hispasat, the strong presence in Africa and the ramp-up of the multibeam agreement signed on Eutelsat 65 West A with several Mexican service providers.

Mobile Connectivity, with revenue of €21 million ($22 million), was up 25% year-on-year, like-for-like. This is explained by the postponement effect of the Anuvu contract signed last year, and the growth of Maritime, driven by the ramp-up of contracts with service providers in recent years.

Eutelsat’s nine-month total operating verticals revenue of €853 million ($888 million) was down 4% year-on-year and in line with market expectations. ‘business. The operator confirmed its full-year revenue forecast of between 1.11 billion euros and 1.13 billion euros ($1.16 billion to $1.18 billion).

“The third quarter was marked by robust delivery, with an improving Broadcast trend and strong double-digit growth in Fixed Broadband and Mobile Connectivity, while Government Services inevitably reflected the geopolitical environment in the Middle East. -East. Recent months have seen significant commercial progress, particularly with the successful commercialization of Eutelsat Quantum, said new CEO Eva Berneke.

The operator made a statement on business exposure to Russia in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The operator derived around 6.3% of its revenue from Russian customers in the 2020-21 fiscal year and has no significant revenue exposure to Ukraine. Eutelsat also leases capacity on four satellites owned by Russian operator RSCC, representing a net present value of €322 million ($335 million) as of December 31, 2021.

“Eutelsat is committed to neutrality and is therefore guided by the sanctions and decisions of its competent regulatory bodies, which it strictly enforces. In this context, Eutelsat immediately implemented EU Council Regulation 2022/350, suspending the broadcasting activities of Russian TV channels such as Russia Today,” the operator said.

Eutelsat has not changed its fleet deployment schedule.