Advanced Television

SES fairs well

February 18, 2009

European satellite giant SES reported 2008 earnings hit by one-offs and trimmed its outlook for revenue growth this year, but said it was barely affected by the economic crisis.

EBITDA rose 0.9 per cent to E1.10 billion. The figure included a E19.2 million hit from restructuring and the termination of IP-PRIME, its IPTV service in North America. Revenue rose 1.2 per cent to E1.63 billion as broadcast capacity stayed strong despite the economic downturn.

President and CEO Romain Bausch said he expected revenues to grow by more than 7% and EBITDA by more than 10% in 2009. Bausch said that video services were leading the company's growth, with more than 70% of its total business coming from such services. In established DTH markets, Bausch said the company was seeing increasing subscriber numbers and the addition of new pay-TV channels, including growth in HD channels in particular. He also said there were plenty of opportunities for DTH in emerging markets in central and eastern Europe, parts of Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

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