FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European satellite operator Eutelsat is seen at the company’s headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, October 11, 2021. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
February 17, 2022
(Reuters) -France’s Eutelsat narrowed and pushed back its financial targets on Thursday, amid a drop in broadcast revenue and capacity delays on two of its satellites.
The group, one of the world’s leading satellite operators, now expects revenue to slip to between 1.11 billion euros and 1.13 billion euros ($1.26 billion to $1.28 billion) for its five key businesses in the fiscal year ending June 30. It had previously forecast revenue to come in at 1.15 billion euros.
Its total revenue fell 9% year-on-year in the first six months of the year to 572 million euros, knocking its profit margin down nearly one point to 76.1.
“This has been a satisfactory first half in financial terms,” said Chief Executive Officer Eva Berneke, who took the helm at the start of the year.
Berneke joined Eutelsat after previously holding executive roles in Danish technology and telecom firms, which the company’s board hoped would help her lead a transition into connectivity markets amid easing broadcast revenue for satellite operators.
The group reported sales from its broadcast division, which still generates a bulk of its revenue, down over 7% on a like-for-like basis, while its fixed broadband business rose more than 37%.
The group also pushed back its forecasts on a return-to-sales growth to 2023/24 for the next fiscal year, due to delays on available capacity on its KONNECT VHTS and EUTELSAT 10B satellites.
Eutelsat, whose biggest shareholder is French state-owned investment bank Bpifrance, has been the subject of takeover speculation. Last September, the company rejected a bid from telecoms billionaire Patrick Drahi.
($1 = 0.8806 euros)
(Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
Source: One America News Network
