SES sees order backlog growth

Satellite operator SES has seen its contract backlog increase to €7.1 billion, up 9% since the end of 2010, with €1.6 billion of renewals and new business signed for the year-to-date.

SES reported revenues of €1.282 billion for the first nine months, with recurring revenue up 3%. Profit for the first nine months was €446.7 million, up 34.3%.

SES confirmed that it was in line to achieve revenue and EBITDA growth of approximately 3% for the full year, excluding a revenue shortfall of €10 million as a result of launch delays. The company launched four satellites – Astra 1N, SES-2, SES-3 and QuetzSat 1 – in the quarter, with SES-4 now scheduled for launch in December and SES-5 moved to 2012.

Operational highlights from the third quarter included contracts with Zeonbud to support DTT in Ukraine, contracts with ProSiebenSat.1 and the Austrian state broadcaster for capacity over Austria, the launch of Magticom in Georgia and a deal with Gazprom Space Systems to move Astra 1F to 55° East to provide capacity over Russia ahead of the launch of Yamal 402 next year.