A ‘broad base of growth’ across all markets resulted in a 13.5 pe...

drivers included video broadcasting, continually rising numbered of TV and HDTV channels, and more leasing by government of capacity in commercial satellites, said CEO Romain Bausch. Demand continues to outpace supply and SES expects the trend to continue, he said. SES’s “excellent results” also showed hikes in recurring revenue -- income adjusted to remove currency exchange effects, one-time items, start-up businesses and the like -- and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), Bausch said. The company’s share buyback program, and a 2007 split from GE, contributed to a 40 percent rise in earnings per share compared to the first half of 2007, he said. SES has 1,064 transponders and 77 percent satellite fleet utilization, Bausch said. Between now and 2010 the company expects to launch 10 satellites, he said. In Europe, SES ASTRA delivers 2,433 TV and radio channels, including 42 HDTV channels, and direct-to-home satellite households in Europe grew by more than four million this year, he said. A joint venture between SES ASTRA and Eutelsat Communications known as “Solaris” will offer mobile satellite services in the S-Band, Bausch said. Eutelsat’s W2A satellite is to launch at the beginning of 2009, SES said. It will be the first commercial satellite infrastructure in Europe for transmitting video, radio, data and interactive mobile services to mobile devices and vehicle receivers, said the company. The two operators have a top-priority filing pending at the ITU and do not expect any problems, Bausch said. Under EU law, regulators must approve providers, he said. If the number of bidders is below the available capacity, each will get what it requested, but if there are more applicants than capacity, there will be a “beauty contest” that could take time, he said. The European Commission is expected to request bids this week, with applications due in early October, he said. Solaris is the only competitor with an existing satellite, he said. Meanwhile, SES Americom’s landmark deal with Comcast means the AMC-18 satellite payload is fully contracted, he said. This year will see the launch of two more satellites in North America, he said: AMC-21, set for launch Aug. 14, will provide 24 more Ku-band transponders to cover all 50 U.S. states, and Ciel-2, launching Q4 2008, is contracted entirely to the DISH Network Corporation for digital broadcasting services over North America, he said. And the U.S. government and EADS are exploring use of commercial satellites to carry sensors, or “hosted payloads,” to support operations, said Rob Bednarek, CEO of SES Americom and SES New Skies. There were several glitches this year, Bausch said. AMC-14, the only satellite expected to go into an EchoStar, not SES position, failed to launch in March and was declared a total loss. Insurance paid off, but SES has no plans to build another satellite for EchoStar, he said. Nine Lockhead Martin A2100 satellites have had varying power loss in their solar array circuits, Bausch said. The power loss cut available commercial capacity in two of the nine, AMC-4 and AMC-16. AMC-4 was co-located with AMC-2, and their payloads split between them to keep the malfunction from having any commercial impact, he said. AMC-16’s capacity reduction was resolved by an adjustment to EchoStar’s monthly bill, he said.