Eutelsat Communications Reports 13.4% Revenue Growth in Third Quarter 2009-2010 and Revises Upward Annual Revenue Guidance

    PARIS, May 10, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

    - Third Quarter 2009-2010 Revenues up Sharply, 13.4% to EUR268.3 million

    - Double-Digit Growth Across all Applications, Driven by the Full Effect
      During the Quarter of new Capacity Progressively Available From
      February 2009

    - Nine-Month Revenues up by 10.9% to EUR776.3 Million

    - Upward Revision of 2009-2010 Revenue Target: Above EUR1,035 Million
      from Above EUR1,020 Million Previously

Eutelsat Communications (ISIN: FR0010221234 - Euronext Paris: ETL), one of the world's leading satellite operators, today reported financial information for the third quarter and nine months ended March 31, 2010.

    Revenues by business application:

                      3rd quarter ended   Change   9 months ended   Change
                            March 31                   March 31
    In millions of        2009   2010     in %     2009    2010     in %
    euros
    Video
    Applications         172.3   189.6   +10.0%    508.9   551.0    +8.3%
    Data & Value
    Added Services        42.3    52.0   +22.8%    126.6   148.4   +17.2%
    Multi-usage           19.7    25.1   +27.5%     54.7    69.6   +27.3%
    Others                 2.2     1.6     NM        9.9     7.4     NM
    Total                236.5   268.3   +13.4%[1] 700.0   776.3   +10.9%[2]

Commenting on the Group's third quarter 2009-2010 revenue, Michel de Rosen, CEO of Eutelsat Communications said:

"With a strategy focused on expanding satellite resources for regions with the strongest potential for expansion, Eutelsat has achieved double-digit sales growth across its entire portfolio of services for the third quarter of its financial year. This remarkable performance is a result of the sustained increase in demand in the regions covered by our fleet, and the increase in satellite capacity we have achieved with our new satellites as well as rapid redeployment of existing in-orbit resources. It reaffirms the strength of Eutelsat's unique position as a supra-regional satellite operator, leader in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region."

"Encouraged by the nine-month revenue growth, we have revised our full-year top-line guidance upward, from more than EUR1 020 million to above EUR1 035 million."

THIRD QUARTER REVENUE ANALYSIS

Note: Unless otherwise stated, all growth indicators or comparisons are made against the third quarter of the previous fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. The share of each application as a percentage of total revenues is calculated excluding "Other revenues".

The excellent sales performance achieved across all applications reflects the execution of the first phase of Eutelsat's significant in-orbit expansion programme, which has been marked since February 2009 by the entry into service of five new satellites and the redeployment of six existing satellites. Designed to increase in-orbit security at the Group's flagship HOT BIRD(TM) neighbourhood, and to consolidate five other orbital positions serving Europe, the Middle East and Africa, these additional resources have also raised the overall flexibility of the fleet.

VIDEO APPLICATIONS (71.1% of revenues)

The robust revenue growth (+10.0%) registered by Video Applications was driven by:

    - Strong commercial momentum from Nilesat and Noorsat at
      7 degrees West following the deployment of ATLANTIC BIRD(TM) 4A to
      support expansion of digital broadcasting over North Africa and
      the Middle East;
    - the activation of new contracts for broadcasting markets in
      Russia and sub-Saharan Africa following the entry into service of
      the W7 satellite at 36degrees East after its launch in November 2009.
      Contracts include Intersputnik in Russia for the NTV Plus and Tricolor
      pay-TV platforms, and MultiChoice Africa for its DsTV pay-TV platform,
      the leading platform in sub-Saharan African;
    - further development of the 9degrees East neighbourhood which
      covers Europe up to the Urals, with additional capacity leased by
      operators including Arqiva (United Kingdom), Telefonica (Spain) and
      the broadcaster Channel One (Russia);
    - continued take-up of HDTV channels carried by the Group's
      satellites, passing from 71 to 120 (+69.0%) over the last 12 months.

At March 31, 2010, Eutelsat's satellites were carrying 3,539 channels, marking an increase of 12.3% during the last 12 months.

DATA and VALUE-ADDED SERVICES (19.5% of revenues)

Revenue from Data and Value-Added Services grew significantly, +22.8% during the quarter. This robust growth was sustained by the full commercial availability of W2A from May 2009, and of W7. The strong coverage of Africa and the Middle East provided by both satellites has notably strengthened the Group's position in markets experiencing high demand for satellite resources for telecom and broadband services. Quarterly highlights include:

    - Strong capacity demand for corporate networks, GSM
      backhauling and IP backbone connectivity, in particular in regions \
      in Africa and the Middle East beyond the reach of fibre;

    - increased traffic through the installed base of D-STAR terminals
      deployed on Europe, Middle East and Africa for professional broadband
      connectivity, and the deployment of new terminals on ferry boats for
      on-board Internet and GSM access;

    - continued roll-out of the Tooway(TM) consumer broadband service, which
      is now offered through a network of 59 distributors in 27 countries.
      The distribution network being put in place for Tooway(TM) marks the
      first phase of pan-European deployment of consumer satellite broadband
      in advance of the entry into service of the KA-SAT satellite in
      early 2011.

MULTI-USAGE (9.4% of revenues)

Multi-usage services (up 27.5%) continued to benefit from strong demand from governments, notably to serve regions in Central Asia and the Middle East.

OTHER REVENUES

The EUR1.6 million of other revenues included a one-off amount of EUR0.9 million for late delivery penalties related to the W7 satellite.

FINANCIAL SITUATION UPDATE

On March 19, 2010, Eutelsat S.A., 96% owned by Eutelsat Communications, announced that it had successfully refinanced all existing credit agreements for a total of EUR1.3 billion which were due in November 2011. This was achieved through:

    - A 7-year senior unsecured bond issue with a 4.125% coupon for
      a total of EUR850 million; and
    - The conclusion of a 5-year new senior unsecured revolving credit
      facility for a total of EUR450 million.

At the end of March 2010, Eutelsat S.A.'s debt was fully cancelled and reimbursed with the bond proceeds. This refinancing has allowed Eutelsat Communications Group to extend the maturity of its financing from 2.7 years as of December 31, 2009 to 5.3 years as of March 31, 2010.

Eutelsat Group's credit rating is unchanged at BBB- rating from S&P and Baa3 from Moody's.

RECENT EVENTS

ictQATAR (representing the State of Qatar) and Eutelsat Communications announced today the signing of a partnership agreement to invest in and operate a new high-capacity satellite at Eutelsat's 25.5degrees East location, one of the two longstanding and anchored neighbourhoods serving fast-growing markets in the Middle East and North Africa regions.

To be launched at the end of 2012, the new satellite will provide both a significantly expanded mission and superior coverage and power across the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia to follow-on from Eutelsat's EUROBIRD(TM) 2 satellite, which is currently operated at 25.5 degrees East. In addition to securing Ku-band continuity for Eutelsat, and additional Ku-band resources for ictQATAR, it will initiate a Ka-band capability opening business opportunities for both parties.

Eutelsat and ictQatar are scheduled to place the order for the new satellite by the middle of 2010, with launch in late 2012. This programme is part of the capital expenditure plan communicated by Eutelsat Communications for the period 2009-2012.

YEAR-TO-DATE REVENUE (9 months ending March 31, 2010) AND 2009-2010 OUTLOOK

At EUR776.3 million, year-to-date revenues were up 10.9% compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year. On the basis of its strong commercial performance over the last nine months, the Group is revising upwards its full year 2009-2010 revenue guidance to more than EUR1,035 million compared to the previous objective of above EUR1,020 million.

The Group will provide an update of its medium-term outlook with the announcement of its 2009-2010 full year results, on July 29, 2010.

* * *

Financial calendar

The financial calendar below is provided for information purposes only. It is subject to change and will be regularly updated.

    - July 29, 2010: earnings for the full year ended June 30, 2010
    - November 8, 2010: financial report for first quarter ended
      September 30, 2010
    - November 9, 2010: Annual General Shareholders Meeting

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With capacity commercialised on 26 satellites that provide coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. At 31 March 2010, Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting more than 3,500 television channels. More than 1,100 channels broadcast via its HOT BIRD(TM) video neighbourhood at 13 degrees East which serves over 120 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Group's satellites also serve a wide range of fixed and mobile telecommunications services, TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and broadband markets for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime and in-flight markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic, markets and operates access to high speed internet services through teleports in France and Italy that serve enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ nearly 650 commercial, technical and operational employees from 28 countries.

    http://www.eutelsat.com
    Appendix

    Revenue breakdown by application (in percentage of revenues)*

                                     3 months ended 31     9 months ended 31
                                           March                March
                                      2009       2010      2009      2010
    Video Applications                73.5%      71.1%     73.7%     71.7%
    Data & Value-Added Services       18.1%      19.5%     18.3%     19.3%
    .......of which Data Services     14.1%      15.3%     14.1%     15.0%
    .......of which Value-Added
           Services                    3.9%       4.1%      4.2%      4.3%
    Multi-usage                        8.4%       9.4%      8.0%      9.0%
    Total                              100%       100%      100%      100%

*excluding other revenues and one-off revenues (EUR2.2 million in Q3 2008-2009 and EUR1.6 million in Q3 2009-2010, EUR9.9 million year-to-date 2008-2009 and EUR7.4 million year-to-date 2009-2010)

    Quarterly revenues by business application

                                     2008-2009                2009-2010
    In millions of euros      Q1     Q2     Q3     Q4     Q1     Q2     Q3
    Video Applications
    Data & Value-Added      166.7  169.8  172.3  170.8  180.8  180.6  189.6
    Services                 41.1   43.2   42.3   46.4   47.7   48.7   52.0
       Data Services         31.4   33.1   33.1   36.6   36.9   37.3   40.9
       Value-Added Services   9.7   10.1    9.2    9.8   10.7   11.5   11.0
    Multi-usage              15.6   19.3   19.7   20.8   22.9   21.5   25.1
    Other                     3.2    4.5    2.2    2.6    1.7    4.2    1.6
    Total                   226.7  236.8  236.5  240.5  253.0  255.0  268.3


    Estimated satellite launch schedule

    Satellite           Expected orbital position   Estimated    Transponders
                                                    launch
    W3B                  16 degrees East         August -        53 Ku / 3 Ka
                                                 September 2010
    KA-SAT                9 degrees East         November 2010  > 80 Ka beams
                                                 - January 2011
    W3C                   7 degrees East         June -           56 Ku
                                                 September 2011
    ATLANTIC BIRD(TM) 7   7 degrees West        September -       50 Ku
                                                December 2011

Note: satellites generally enter into service one to two months after launch.

---------------------------------

[1] At constant exchange rate and excluding one-off revenues, third quarter revenue growth would have been 15.0%

[2] At constant exchange rate and excluding one-off revenues, year-to-date revenue growth would have been 12.0%

    For further information
    Press
    Vanessa O'Connor
    Tel. : +33-1-53-98-37-91
    [email protected]

    Frederique Gautier
    Tel. : +33-1-53-98-37-91
    [email protected]

    Investors & Analysts
    Lisa Sanders Finas
    Tel. : +33-1-53-98-30-92
    [email protected]

SOURCE Eutelsat Communications