Modest Revenue Growth for Commercial FSS
Operators in 2013
August
13, 2014
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% growth over revenues
in 2012. 60% 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 twelve
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% 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% of
all FSS operators
increased the number
of transponders
leased throughout
2013
17 operators had
fill rates of 80% or
more, seven of which
had fill rates of
90% or more
32,500 TV
channels and 146 DTH
pay-TV platforms
were broadcast by
satellite operators
in 2013
