Rising revenues took SES to €843.4 million in the first half, as the Luxembourg-based satellite operator benefitted from increased utilisation rates across the fleet.
The 7% revenue increase was aided by the strength of the US dollar, recurring revenue a more modest 2% on the back of a 4% growth in the company’s infrastructure business. EBITDA of €607 million was 10.3% ahead of the prior year and operating profit grew by 9.2% to €359.9 million.
Capacity utilisation increased slightly to 80.5% of the operator’s 1,101 transponders. As of the end of June, 886 transponders were in use compared to 855 at the close of 2008.
SES reiterated that it would be able to meet the licence commitments of the Solaris Mobile project, its joint venture with Eutelsat Communications, following technical issues with the S-band payload of the Eutelsat W2A satellite.
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