Advanced Television

Tough financial times for NewSat

June 10, 2014

By Chris Forrester

Australia-based NewSat is having a tough time, not helped by the on-going delays to its fresh bulk capacity order on MEASAT 3b, which is suffering a launch delay until September.

On June 6th NewSat’s board of directors agreed to salary cuts of 10-25 percent as the business suffered the downturn and in particular cutbacks of US military business from Afghanistan.

To date NewSat has specialised in supplying teleport and communications to the military and energy/oil extractions companies. Revenues were actually up 5 per cent for the year ending June 30 at A$39.3 million, with net profit A$10.4 million.

NewSat is having its own satellite built, Jabiru-1 and due for launch until 2015. Meanwhile it had leased capacity on MEASAT 3b.

The delayed launch of MEASAT 3b, plus the economic downturn, is likely to see a reduction in revenues this year to between A$30-33 million, said the company in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

Categories: Articles, Business, DTH/Satellite