Tough Q1 for Eutelsat as Nilesat renews long-standing contract
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Editor
| 28 October 2021
Even though it has extended its partnership with a key client in the MENA region, leading satellite operator Eutelsat has posted a mixed set of first quarterly results showing yet again how video business is sinking as connectivity gains a higher orbit.
Eutelsat 28 oct 2021
For the first quarter ended 30 September 2021, the company posted total revenues of €287.3, million down 8.9% on a reported basis and by 4.4% like-for-like compared with at the end of the same period a year ago. Revenues from the five operating verticals stood at €284.8 million. They were down by 3.4% on a like-for-like basis excluding a negative currency effect of around 0.7 points and a negative perimeter effect of almost 3 points deriving from the disposal of Euro Broadband Infrastructure (EBI) on 30 April 2021, only partly offset by the consolidation of Bigblu Broadband Europe since 1 October 2020.

At the end of the quarter, the company’s broadcast business accounted for 62% of its total revenues but the segment’s €177.6 million revenue, represented an annual fall of 6.5% year-on-year. The revenues were said to reflected the carry-forward effect of the slowdown in the pace of new business against the Covid backdrop which Eutelsat said notably affected resellers across Europe during FY 2020-21, as well as a negative impact of circa 1.5 points stemming mainly from a tough comparison basis, as the first quarter of FY 2020-21 which included a positive one-off of around €2 million, and to a lesser extent from lower revenues from Fransat. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenues were down by 1.7%.

Yet more optimistically, Eutelsat said on the commercial front in the quarter it had experienced some signs of a return to normality, notably in Europe with a multi-year agreement signed with the Polish national commercial broadcaster, TVN, for an additional transponder at the HOTBIRD neighbourhood and a contract with Zeonbud, Ukraine’s nation-wide DTT operator for capacity at the 9°East orbital position.

Moreover, in a deal that it said reflected the “unparalleled” coverage of Eutelsat’s in-orbit assets over the MENA region it had agreed partial renewal terms with Nilesat, Egypt’s premier satellite operator, for Ku capacity at Eutelsat’s 7° West position, part of the 7/8° West video hotspot, for broadcast services across the Middle East.

The multi-year, multi-transponder agreement represents the partial renewal of capacity by Nilesat at enhanced terms. Eutelsat said that the 7/8° West video hotspot represented the most powerful, widespread and dense footprint in the Middle East and North Africa, reaching 90% of TV homes in the region. The neighbourhood boasts over 60 million homes and 1,000 channels.