Satellite operator Eutelsat Communications says its profitability “remained robust” after a first half that saw revenues slip by 2% to €660 million.
Rodolphe Belmer, Chief Executive Officer, Eutelsat Communications pointed to the “back-end loading” of the second half where the ramp-up of Konnect Africa (fixed broadband), the contracts with China Unicom on Eutelsat 172B and new video business with Ethiopian broadcasters, Orange Slovensko, Afghanistan Broadcasting System would come into play.
Video applications continue to represent 66% of Eutelsat’s business.
At 31 December 2018, the total number of channels broadcast by Eutelsat satellites stood at 7,067, up 3.8% year-on-year. HD penetration continued to increase, standing at 1,500 channels versus 1,275 a year earlier (+17.6%), implying a penetration rate of 21.2% compared to 18.7% a year earlier.
The first contracts have also been signed for the Cirrus platform.
