[SatNews] According to Euroconsult's newly released report, Company Profiles – FSS Operators: The Complete Analysis, the FSS industry generated $12.2 billion in revenues in 2013, corresponding to 2 percent growth over revenues in 2012.
Sixty percent of revenue-generating FSS operators experienced a revenue growth slowdown in 2013 after years of robust growth; ten operators reported a revenue decrease in 2013, compared to only six operators in 2012.
"In order to re-energize revenue growth, satellite operators are increasingly exploring new revenue streams; in recent years the focus has primarily been on launching new satellites over emerging markets and investments in HTS systems or payloads," said Nathan de Ruiter, Senior Consultant at Euroconsult and Editor of the report. "Eleven FSS operators offered HTS capacity to the market in 2013, while nine operators will launch their first HTS satellite or payload within the next four years. Further, we have seen a growing number of regional operators such as ABS, APT Satellite, Arabsat, RSCC and Gazprom Satellite Systems with international expansion plans by launching new satellites outside of their region of origin."
While M&A activity picked up in 2013 and more industry consolidation could occur in the near term, inorganic growth opportunities are understood to be limited and often complex for the majority of operators. As a result, they must increasingly pursue strategic partnerships in order to grow organically while mitigating financial and market risks. The nature of these partnerships varies widely; they include the joint use of satellites (e.g., ABS/SingTel and Measat/Azercosmos), the joint use of orbital positions (e.g., Arabsat/Es'hailSat), bulk capacity lease deals (e.g. Eutelsat/Nilesat, Measat/Thaicom), as well as joint satellite procurement (ABS/Satmex).
While the market structure of the FSS industry remains concentrated at the top, it has become increasingly fragmented at the bottom. At least three operators (Mexsat, Boliviasat and O3b) should report their first FSS revenues in 2014, while 12 operators should launch their first satellite within the next four years. The majority of these emerging satellite operators are backed by national governments that either want to boost the national telecom market or decrease dependence on foreign satellite operators.
Based on our industry benchmark, the average FSS operator in 2013 had $237 million in revenue; 186 transponders leased of which 55 percent are used for video applications; 238 regular transponders and 16 Gbps of HTS capacity available for lease; 952 TV channels and 4 DTH pay-TV platforms broadcast over satellites; seven satellites in orbit with an average fleet age of six years; and two satellites under construction.
Other report findings include:
- 20 operators had revenue of more than $100 million, while Measat and Gazprom reached this milestone for the first time in 2013
- More than 85 percent of all FSS operators increased the number of transponders leased throughout 2013
- 17 operators had fill rates of 80 percent or more, seven of which had fill rates of 90 percent or more
- 32,500 TV channels and 146 DTH pay-TV platforms were broadcast by satellite operators in 2013
Company Profiles is a unique survey of all active and pre-operational FSS operators. The report includes publicly-listed and privately-held companies, global and regional operators. Now in its 7th edition, Company Profiles is the only report available providing in-depth profiles of all 39 active or soon-to-launch FSS satellite operators, summaries on 12 companies that will launch commercial satellites in the near future, and a global FSS operator ranking by revenues. In this year's edition we have expanded the introduction section into a benchmark analysis to provide a better view of the competitive positioning of each FSS operator. We have also expanded the comprehensive satellite supply table with information on primary usage or anchor customer of each individual satellite.
Euroconsult now offers users the ability to purchase individual operator profiles for this report.
For more information on pricing, please visit http://www.euroconsult-ec.com/shop.
