SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) reports financial results for the three months ended 31 March 2014.
1. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS: Strong revenue and EBITDA growth
> Q1 Revenue of EUR 465.6 million (2013: EUR 440.8 million)
– An increase of 8.0% over the prior year period at constant exchange rates (“constant FX”)
> Q1 EBITDA of EUR 345.0 million (2013: EUR 321.2 million)
– An increase of 9.3% at constant FX over the prior year
– EBITDA margin of 74.1% (2013: 72.9% as reported)
> Q1 Profit of the group EUR 150.2 million (2013: EUR 141.5 million)
> Contract backlog of EUR 7.4 billion at end of March 2014
> Closing Net Debt / EBITDA ratio of 2.66 (31 December 2013: 2.79)
Karim Michel Sabbagh, President and CEO, commented: “SES has made good progress during this first quarter of 2014, building on its investments in regions with high growth potential and implementing in a timely manner innovative developments in new applications, services and satellite technology. Video remains at the core, and we are seeing accelerated developments in other applications. Revenue growth in the quarter was strongly driven by the international segment, with a full contribution in the period from SES-6, complemented by the sale of capacity to Eutelsat following the comprehensive settlement agreed in January. Concurrently, we are maintaining our positive trajectory in developed markets, notably in Europe.
“In the first quarter, we have brought the ASTRA 2E and SES-8 satellites into operation; we successfully launched ASTRA 5B, which is now undergoing in-orbit testing; and we announced the procurement of SES-10, which will enable us to pursue further growth opportunities in Latin America. These are important elements of our future growth.
“The combination of our strong financial performance and our enhanced financing through the renewal of our revolving credit facility in January and through the issuance of our second US dollar bond in March this year provides a solid foundation for 2014 and supports SES’s future growth.”
