Intelsat’s Q3 Media revenues fall
November 6, 2020
By Chris Forrester
Intelsat unveiled its Q3 results after the market closed on November 5th, and its Media segment (42 per cent of overall revenues) saw revenues of $203.5 million for the three months to September 30th. This was a fall of 9 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier.
Intelsat is working its way through Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganisation.
Its other key divisions were its Network Services, where revenues were $169.6 million and a decrease of 6 per cent year-on-year. Government-related revenues were $108 million, a rise of 13 per cent on last year’s performance. The company’s overall loss (based on total revenues of $489.4 million) was $15.9 million.
Intelsat’s average fill rate as of September 30th on its approximately 1,675 36 MHz station-kept widebeam transponders was 74.5 per cent, as compared to an average fill rate at June 30, 2020 of 75.1 per cent on approximately 1,675 transponders. In addition, as of September 30th, 2020 its fleet included approximately 1,225 36 MHz equivalent transponders of high-throughput Intelsat Epic capacity, reflecting no change from the prior quarter.
At September 30th 2020, Intelsat’s contracted backlog, representing expected future revenue under existing contracts with customers, was $6.2 billion, as compared to $6.4 billion as at June 30th, 2020. Intelsat spent $36.4 million on costs related to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The company elected not to hold an analysts’ conference call.
Intelsat’s CEO, Stephen Spengler, said: “We delivered solid quarterly sequential operational results despite the economic headwinds impacting the entire satellite industry. Financial results were positively impacted by our government business, which generated meaningful top-line growth when compared to the same period last year as a result of new transponder and FlexGround managed services. The reported decline in the media business reflects the macro trends that have continued to impact our results over the past few quarters. Our network services business remained resilient despite the impacts of Covid-19 on the mobility segments that we serve, with new business booked for enterprise network and maritime mobility solutions.”