|
||
|
Maritime Demand Boosts Inmarsat Profit |
||
|
LONDON, Aug 24, 2005/Satnews Daily/ — Satellite operator Inmarsat said on Tuesday it benefited from stronger demand among maritime users to post an 11 percent rise in first-half profits.
Inmarsat said its core earnings, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), rose to $171.8 million for the first half of 2005 from $155.4 million in the year-earlier period.
Total revenue increased to $253.6 million from $243.5 million a year earlier. Second quarter revenue was $126.2 million, up 1 percent year-on-year, but down 1 percent on the preceding quarter.
Announcing its first results as a public company since listing in June, Inmarsat’s land business, however, was weaker than expected, with data revenues there falling 20 percent.
Inmarsat, which has 10 satellites providing voice and data services, said it hopes to set that right in the next few years when its keenly awaited Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) services, which will allow much faster data transfer speeds, becomes fully operational.
The second of our Inmarsat-4 satellites is expected to be available to support a launch in either the fourth quarter of 2005 or early 2006.
Inmarsat said the maritime sector had been the main
driver of its improvement with growth in data revenues more than
offsetting ongoing decline in voice. The company said revenues were
lower despite increased usage following the tsunami in Asia, while the
aeronautical sector continued to expand as a result of greater use of
its Swift64 service, which targets government and business jets.
Recent Stories: Stratos, SMS Global Introduce Prepaid SMS and Text E-mail for Maritime Crews Teekay Shipping Signs Deal as International Launch Customer for Connexion by Boeing Maritime Service U.K. Maritime, Coastguard Agency Signs 3-year $2-M Contract with EMS Satcom Connexion by Boeing to Launch High-Speed Internet Service for the Maritime Market |
||
