SES: 2013 guidance at risk
July 22, 2013
By Chris Forrester
One of the risks with any satellite operator is that its satellite launch timetable somehow or other goes pear-shaped. And Luxembourg-based SES is suffering a high degree of launch uncertainty just at the moment, and delays are not helping in its own revenue expectations.
Banker Morgan Stanley, for example, in a note to clients on July 19th – and timed ahead of SES’ results coming out on July 26th – says SES’ 2013 guidance is “at risk”. “We believe a combination of three factors could lead SES to miss its three-year guidance and hit, at best, the low end of its FY13 guidance: (i) launch delays (SES 8 and Astra 2E); (ii) the slow ramp-up of some recent launches (SES 4 and SES 5); and (iii) higher margin dilution coming from the growth of low-margin HD+, coupled with slower growth in the more highly operationally geared infrastructure business.”
The bank says it expects SES to trim its guidance this Friday when it reports its H1 numbers.