SES, the pre-eminent satellite operator worldwide
(Paris:SESG)(LuxX:SESG), reports strong results for the first quarter
of 2007. The results for the period include the contribution until 30
March 2007 of the assets transferred to GE as part of the split-off
transaction announced on 14 February 2007.
HIGHLIGHTS
-- Revenue rose 21% to EUR 399.5m (Q1 2006: EUR 329.3m)
-- Recurring revenue(1) up 6.2% on prior year period
-- EBITDA increased by 21% to EUR 275.2m (Q1 2006: EUR 227.2m)
-- Operating profit grew 9% to EUR 137.9m (Q1 2006: EUR 126.4m)
-- 22% higher excluding non-recurring NSS-8 charge of EUR
15.9m
-- Net profit was EUR 97.7m (Q1 2006: EUR 118.3m)
-- Reflecting one-off gain on sale of subsidiary in 2006
-- Major new contract for French market development signed with
CANAL+
-- EUR 1.2 billion split-off transaction concluded with GE,
exchanging their shareholding in SES for a company holding
assets and cash
-- Group utilisation rate at 31 March was 74% (761 of 1,028
commercially available transponders)
Romain Bausch, President and CEO of SES, commented:
"The year has begun extremely well, with the conclusion of a
significant agreement with Canal+ for the transmission of its French
pay-TV offer on ASTRA and the completion of the transaction with GE.
These two events deliver a combination of guaranteed growth in Europe
and improved development potential for our assets worldwide. In
particular, the GE transaction has now removed the share overhang
associated with their shareholding and has facilitated the
optimisation of the SES fleet. The subsequent cancellation of the GE
shares delivers additional value per share to SES shareholders. We
continue to focus on efforts to enhance shareholder value."
(1) "Recurring revenue" is a measure designed to represent
underlying revenue performance by removing currency exchange
effects, eliminating one-time items and disregarding any
changes in consolidation scope.
BUSINESS REVIEW
The year has begun well with good operational performance
complemented by the conclusion of the new long-term agreement with
Canal+ for the transmission of its full pay-TV offer for the French
market on the ASTRA satellite platform, and the announcement and
completion of the EUR 1.2 billion transaction with major shareholder
GE. The transaction with GE exchanged certain assets and cash for the
remaining GE shareholding of 103 million shares in SES, which were
subsequently cancelled. Following the conclusion of the transaction,
the SES group net debt at 31 March was EUR 3,332 million, representing
a reported net debt/EBITDA multiple of 2.95.
Revenue in the period grew 21% to EUR 399.5 million, with a solid
same scope underlying growth of 6.2%, complemented by the contribution
from the acquired businesses SES NEW SKIES and ND SatCom.
EBITDA grew by 21% to EUR 275.2m, representing a margin of 68.9%.
The infrastructure margin rose to 80.5%, while services activities
returned a margin of 11.2%, excluding start-up costs and non-recurring
items.
Excluding the non-recurring EUR 15.9 million charge taken in
connection with the NSS-8 launch failure, the operating profit also
rose strongly by 22% mirroring the top line growth.
Profit of the group declined from EUR 118.3 m to EUR 97.7m,
principally reflecting a one-off gain of EUR 15.0 million recorded in
February 2006 on the sale of SES Re S.A., and the non-recurring NSS-8
charge in Q1 2007. The GE transaction concluded just before the
quarter end will have a significantly favourable impact on earnings
per share beginning in the second quarter.
As of 1 January 2007, assets were reorganised under the operating
companies of the SES group, to reflect their geographical focus. The
principal change effected was the transfer of certain satellite assets
to SES NEW SKIES. The AAP-1 satellite (28 transponders) was renamed
NSS-11. The AMC-12/ASTRA 4A capacity (72 transponders) was transferred
from SES AMERICOM and SES ASTRA respectively, and renamed NSS-10. SES
NEW SKIES also assumed responsibility for the commercialisation of the
ASTRA 2B steerable beam from SES ASTRA, currently comprising eight
transponders.
SES ASTRA
The major development in the period was the agreement with Canal+
to transmit its full pay-TV programming offer for the French market
from a single orbital position on the ASTRA satellite platform at 19.2
degrees East. The agreement provides that Canal+ will take several
ASTRA transponders in addition to those currently contracted and also
foresees a framework for the long term growth requirements of Canal+
Group. This agreement consolidates and secures ASTRA's position in the
French market.
TV and radio channels carried on the ASTRA and SIRIUS satellite
systems continued to grow, with over 2,000 channels now being
delivered via these systems.
The reach of the ASTRA satellite system grew to over 109 million
TV households in the 35 countries surveyed in Europe and North Africa,
confirming the pre-eminent position of the ASTRA system in the region.
ASTRA2Connect, a service offering high-speed internet connectivity
via satellite, commenced service from the 23.5 degrees East orbital
position, delivering broadband services via satellite to consumers not
served by terrestrial means.
SES ASTRA's utilisation rate at the period end was 88%, or 232 of
263 commercially available transponders (As reported at 31 December
2006: 84%, or 251 of 305 commercially available transponders).
Pre-commercial development of the entavio platform and its
associated services continued during the period. On 19 April, SES
ASTRA announced the successful conclusion of an agreement with German
Pay-TV operator Premiere, which becomes the first major pay-TV
customer of the entavio platform and provides critical mass for the
development of its digital services in the German market. Negotiations
are underway with other potential broadcasting customers of the
platform.
SES ASTRA's services activities continued to perform well. ASTRA
Platform Services renewed and extended existing contracts, continued
to diversify its product offering and grew its broadcaster customer
base. ND Satcom, a full member of the group since June 2006, continued
to grow its strong government business and develop the large framework
agreement with German Bundeswehr (BW2 contract). Revenue from this
unit reflects these developments. The SES ASTRA services activities
also included revenue from Q1 for SATLYNX, which has left the group
from end of March following the completion of the split-off
transaction with GE.
SES AMERICOM
The successful launch of AMC-18 in December 2006 was soon followed
by its entry into commercial service in February 2007 after extensive
in-orbit testing. AMC-18 was initially built as the ground spare for
the successful AMC-10 and AMC-11 satellite programmes, and represented
a very low cost opportunity to deliver additional capacity in orbit.
This satellite, augmenting the HD-PRIME cable neighbourhood in the
U.S., has a 15-year design life, and will provide additional capacity
to feed the demand for HDTV into cable systems across the U.S.
AMERICOM Government Services extended its contract with NASA for a
multi-year period to provide capacity for television feeds and
broadcasting activities. The capacity will be used for carrying Space
Shuttle mission broadcasts and for NASA TV channels.
NewCom International, a teleport operator and global
communications provider, signed an agreement with SES AMERICOM to add
REDiSat to its Emergency Communications Portfolio.
SES AMERICOM's utilisation rate at the period end was 73%, or 327
of 447 commercially available transponders (As reported at 31 December
2006: 71%, or 357 of 499 commercially available transponders).
Additional development of the IP-PRIME offering also featured
during the period. As well as numerous technical enhancements, Cisco
joined with SES AMERICOM to support the launch of a complete IPTV
offering to U.S. Regional LECs. IP-PRIME now offers over 350 TV and
audio channels for IPTV offerings by telephone and cable companies.
Commercial activities are expected to begin in the second quarter
2007.
SES NEW SKIES
On January 30 the NSS-8 satellite launch resulted in failure when
the rocket exploded on the launch platform. The procurement process
has begun for a replacement satellite and an announcement will be made
in due course. The impact of the failure is that there will be a
slowing of the growth profile expected in the coming months, however
this represents a delay rather than a disappearance of the revenue
foreseen to be associated with the satellite. SES NEW SKIES continues
to market available capacity in the region.
New contracts in the period included a two-transponder, multi-year
contract to provide internet trunking to French Polynesia, and a
contract to broadcast two new free-to-air DTH channels with STV of
Cameroon in West Africa.
Finally, as part of the group's fleet reorganisation, the AMC-12
and AAP-1 satellites were transferred into the SES NEW SKIES fleet,
and are now designated NSS-10 and NSS-11.
SES NEW SKIES' utilisation rate at the period end was 63.5%, or
202 of 318 commercially available transponders (As reported at 31
December 2006: 71%, or 152 of 215 commercially available
transponders).
Outlook
The excellent start to the year provides additional opportunities,
especially now that SES is the majority owner of its entire fleet.
This gives greater control over the commercialisation of its capacity.
Organic growth continues in SES's core markets, driven by ongoing
channel growth as well as the development of High Definition
Television. SES remains on track to follow its continuous growth path
as additional new transponder capacity is launched into orbit.
The ASTRA 1L satellite is due for launch from the European Space
Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on 3 May 2007. Other launches
scheduled for this year include SIRIUS-4 in Q3 and AMC-14 in Q4.
The 2007 revenue and EBITDA guidance published on 19 February 2007
remains unchanged and is attached as an Appendix to this document. We
have also published today (Appendix) updated capital expenditure
projections.
SUMMARY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (in EUR millions)
1. CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
-0-
*T
Q1, 2007 Q1, 2006 %
Revenue 399.5 329.3 +21.3%
Operating expenses (124.3) (102.1) +21.7%
----------------------------------
EBITDA 275.2 227.2 +21.1%
Depreciation (127.5) (92.9) +37.2%
Amortisation (9.8) (7.9) +24.1%
----------------------------------
Operating profit 137.9 126.4 +9.0%
Net financing charges (18.4) 18.8 --
----------------------------------
Profit for the period before tax 119.5 145.2 -17.7%
Income tax expense (24.6) (26.3) -6.5%
----------------------------------
Profit for the period after tax 94.9 118.9 -20.2%
Share of associates' result 2.6 (0.7) --
Minority interests 0.2 0.1 --
----------------------------------
Net profit of the Group 97.7 118.3 -17.4%
----------------------------------
*T
2. QUARTERLY DEVELOPMENT (and percentage change to previous
quarter)
-0-
*T
Year-to-date, Q1 2007 Q1 % Q2 % Q3 % Q4 %
Revenue 399.5 - 5.6% -- -- -- -- -- --
Operating expenses (124.3) - 25.1% -- -- -- -- -- --
-----------------------------------------------
EBITDA 275.2 + 7.0 % -- -- -- -- -- --
Depreciation (127.5) + 6.3% -- -- -- -- -- --
Amortisation (9.8) -- -- -- -- -- -- --
-----------------------------------------------
Operating profit 137.9 + 8.4% -- -- -- -- -- --
-----------------------------------------------
*T
3. ANALYSIS BY PRIMARY GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENT
-0-
*T
Other
Year-to-date, Q1 SES SES SES operations/
2007 ASTRA AMERICOM NEW SKIES Elimination Total
Revenue 233.8 106.4 66.5 (7.2) 399.5
Operating expenses (69.9) (37.6) (18.4) 1.6 (124.3)
--------------------------------------------------
EBITDA 163.9 68.8 48.1 (5.6) 275.2
Depreciation (47.2) (38.4) (41.9) -- (127.5)
Amortisation (9.1) (0.7) -- -- (9.8)
--------------------------------------------------
Operating profit 107.6 29.7 6.2 (5.6) 137.9
--------------------------------------------------
*T
4. ANALYSIS BY SECONDARY BUSINESS SEGMENT
-0-
*T
Other
Year-to-date, Q1 Infra- One-off operations/
2007 structure Services items(2) Elimination Total
Revenue 344.5 75.0 -- (20.0) 399.5
EBITDA 277.3 8.4 (4.9) (5.6) 275.2
----------------------------------------------------
EBITDA margin 80.5% 11.2% -- -- 68.9%
----------------------------------------------------
*T
(2) Start-up costs and non-recurring items
Appendix
Revenue and EBITDA ranges - 2007 (Unchanged!(3))
-0-
*T
2007 Analyst guidance
-------------- -------------------------------------------------------
EUR million 6 November 2006 14 February 2007
-------------- -------------------------------------------------------
Update for
1 EUR = 1.27 1 EUR = 1.30 recent
USD USD events(1) 2007
-------------------------------------------------------
Total
-- Revenues 1660 - 1700 1644 - 1684 (76) 1568 - 1608
-- EBITDA 1100 - 1140 1089 - 1129 (48) 1041 - 1081
Infrastructure
-- Revenues 1384 - 1421 1371 - 1408 (39) 1332 - 1369
-- EBITDA 1098 - 1129 1088 - 1119 (30) 1058 - 1089
Services
-- Revenues 349 - 374 346 - 371 (37) 309 - 334
-- EBITDA(2) 34 - 36 33 - 45 (6) 27 - 39
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*T
(1) Includes: GE transaction (assumes effective date, 1 April),
entavio pre-commercial costs, NSS-8 failure impact and Canal+
new contract
(2) Services EBITDA normalised for entavio and other
pre-commercial costs
(3) The guidance on SES key financials as published on 14 and 19
Feb 2007 remains unchanged. The entavio investor update
published on 19 April 2007 already clarified that the
anticipated additional 2007 EBITDA dilution above the 12 MEUR
amount as included in this table is expected to be offset by
other specific cost elements within the Group, both of a
recurring and non-recurring nature, and therefore existing
Group EBITDA guidance is not impacted by this transaction.
Capital Expenditure schedule
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5390013
Additional information is available on our website www.ses.com
PRESS / ANALYST TELECONFERENCES
A press call will be hosted at 11.00 CET today, 2 May 2007.
Journalists are requested to call one of the following numbers five
minutes prior to this time:
-0-
*T
+49 (0)69 9897 2623 Germany
+32 (0)2 400 6875 Belgium
+33 (0)1 70 99 42 67 France
+352 342 080 8191 Luxembourg
+44 (0)20 7138 0845 UK
*T
A call for investors and analysts will be hosted at 14.00 CET
today, 2 May 2007. Participants are requested to call one of the
following numbers five minutes prior to this time:
-0-
*T
+49 (0)30 9919 4895 Germany
+32 (0)2 789 8726 Belgium
+33 (0)1 70 99 42 95 France
+352 342 080 8584 Luxembourg
+44 (0)20 7806 1966 UK
+1 718 354 1388 USA
*T
A presentation, which will be referred to in each call, will be
available for download from the Investor Relations section of our
website www.ses.com
This announcement does not constitute or form part of, and should
not be construed as, any offer for sale of, or solicitation of any
offer to buy, any securities of SES S.A. ("SES") nor should it or any
part of it form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any
contract or commitment whatsoever.
No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be
made by SES, its advisors or any other person as to the accuracy,
completeness or fairness of the information or opinions contained in
this announcement, and any reliance you place on them will be at your
sole risk. Without prejudice to the foregoing, none of SES or its
advisors accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever
arising, directly or indirectly, from use of this announcement or its
contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith.
This announcement includes "forward-looking statements". All
statements other than statements of historical fact included in this
announcement, including, without limitation, those regarding SES's
financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of
management for future operations (including development plans and
objectives relating to SES's products and services) are
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors
that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of
SES to be materially different from future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions
regarding SES's present and future business strategies and the
environment in which SES will operate in the future and such
assumptions may or may not prove to be correct. These forward-looking
statements speak only as at the date of this announcement.
Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement regarding
past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that
such trends or activities will continue in the future. SES does not
undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
