SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announced financial results for the year ended 31 December 2016.

Strong business fundamentals delivering solid financial performance

  • Reported revenue of EUR 2,068.8 million, up 2.7% over prior year (+2.4% at constant FX[1])
  • Revenue 2.7% lower at same scope2 and constant FX
  • Group EBITDA margin of 70.2% (2015: 74.2%); same scope[2] EBITDA margin of 73.7%
  • EUR 495.2 million gain related to O3b consolidation recognised in Q3 2016
  • Net profit attributable to SES shareholders of EUR 962.7 million (2015: EUR 544.9 million)
  • Net debt to EBITDA ratio[3] 3.09x (2015: 2.54x); O3b refinanced with EUR 60 million annual synergies
  • Commitment to progressive dividend re-affirmed with a proposed dividend per A-share of EUR 1.34

Building differentiated, future-proof capabilities to deliver sustained profitable growth and returns

  • Substantial contract backlog increased to EUR 8.1 billion (2015: EUR 7.4 billion)
  • HDTV grew 7.2% (YOY) to 2,495 channels; now signed 21 commercial UHD channels
  • O3b annual revenue up by over 90% (YOY), improving business mix and growth profile in Enterprise
  • Expanding leading aero position with Global Eagle Entertainment, Gogo, Panasonic Avionics and Thales
  • 9% growth (YOY) in number of global government customers, including new SES GS contracts   

Karim Michel Sabbagh, President and CEO, commented: “2016 was a year of acceleration for SES. We continued to execute our strategy of building differentiated capabilities in the four market verticals. This contributed to delivering 2.7% growth in reported revenue and SES’s highest ever contract backlog.  

In Video, SES continued to enhance the viewing experience, adding nearly 170 HDTV channels and grew in UHD to 21 commercial channels. SES accelerated the scale-up of capabilities across the value chain through the creation of MX1, which now provides value-added ancillary capabilities to over 2,750 global TV channels and more than 120 Video on Demand platforms.

Acquiring the remaining shares in O3b allowed SES to bring it fully into the group, which is now uniquely placed to deliver ubiquitous managed network solutions for our data customers. The efficient integration of GEO-MEO capabilities enabled SES to increase the number of prime global and regional enterprise customers and provides a strong growth engine for 2017 and beyond. 

Mobility revenue grew 67% at same scope and constant FX and almost doubled in 2016 as reported. SES is now the partner of choice for the four major global providers of inflight connectivity and entertainment. The agreement with Thales for SES-17, and further agreements with Global Eagle Entertainment, Gogo and Panasonic Avionics, increased SES’s significant Mobility backlog and validates our differentiated approach of building customised and scalable satellite-enabled solutions.

SES’s Government business continued to recover in the U.S. as we are increasingly able to deliver services across the value chain. This includes customised end-to-end solutions, such as TROJAN. 2016 also marked the first joint award for SES and O3b by the U.S. Department of Defense. Equally important is SES’s growth in international Government clients in 2016, including an important end-to-end service agreement for NATO’s AGS. 

In RR Media and O3b, SES acquired two important growth accelerators and realised EUR 60 million of annual financing synergies from fully refinancing the O3b debt, commencing in 2017. These were supported by EUR 2.2 billion of new financing completed within SES’s financial framework.

SES is committed to building the business with strategic clarity, value accretive investments and strong execution. These fundamentals support our objective of delivering sustained and profitable growth in all four market verticals, and will enable SES to continue to generate attractive long-term returns for shareholders.”

About SES

SES is the world-leading satellite operator and the first to deliver a differentiated and scalable GEO-MEO offering worldwide, with more than 50 satellites in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and 12 in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). SES focuses on value-added, end-to-end solutions in four key market verticals (Video, Enterprise, Mobility and Government). It provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, governments and institutions, and businesses worldwide. SES’s portfolio includes the ASTRA satellite system, which has the largest Direct-to-Home (DTH) television reach in Europe, and O3b Networks, a global managed data communications service provider. Another SES subsidiary, MX1, is a leading media service provider and offers a full suite of innovative digital video and media services. Further information available at: www.ses.com

[1] “Constant FX” restates comparative figures to neutralise currency variations and thus facilitate comparison

[2] “Same scope” excludes the impact of the consolidation of RR Media and O3b during 2016 (including transaction-related costs)

[3] Based on rating agency methodology (treats hybrid bonds as 50% debt and 50% equity). Under IFRS (treats hybrid bonds as 100% equity), Net Debt to EBITDA ratio was 2.65 times at 31 December 2016 (31 December 2015: 2.54 times)