The double-dip scenario is emerging: either SES succeeds in putting its four satellites into orbit this year, or times will be very complicated for the Luxembourg flagship.

The symbolic bar of €2b in turnover is still moving further for the Luxembourg satellite operator. With €1.876b revenue, turnover fell a further 6.9%, the year having obviously been more complicated due to the covid-19 and travel restrictions, essential for negotiating contracts.

Revenues from the video segment (€1,108m), down 9%, were not offset by the 2.6% increase in the “Networks” segment (€767m), since the former provided two-thirds of the group's income, versus a third for the latter. Adjusted net profit fell from €395m last year to €208m this year, but the losses €86m, against €296m in profit last year.

But SES continued to reduce its debt. The calculation of the adjusted net debt at the end of 2020 was down by €505m over one year, to €3.42b. The adjusted net debt to EBITDA ratio was 2.97, its lowest level in five years.

The dividend remains at €0.40, the minimum set by the management of the company.

The company expects revenues of between €1.76b and €1.82b for 2021, but it will have to finance €660m in 2021 and 880 in 2022 for the SES-17 and O3B mPower satellites (1, 2 and 3), all scheduled for the third trimester.

“2021 represents a year of unique and significant opportunities for SES. It will see us realise the first $1b from C-band repurposing and execute on a strong pipeline of commercial opportunities to further grow, driven by the increasing backlog of now $740m for SES-17 and O3b mPOWER ahead of launch in the second half of 2021. These assets form the bedrock of our unique, multi-orbit value proposition to serve the strong and expanding demand for data across all our segments and will drive sustained, profitable growth for SES in the years ahead,” commented SES CEO Steve Collar. 

This article was originally published on Paperjam.lu and has been translated and edited for Delano.