Eutelsat: LEO revenues up 30%

Eutelsat’s Q1 results, released after the market closed on October 29th, showed that the satellite operator is still suffering steady erosion of its once highly dependable video revenues. Still 40 per cent of Eutelsat’s overall revenues, they tumbled 17.8 per cent year-on-year. Eutelsat explained the fall was compounded by the termination of Russian DTH channel capacity contracts on the Express AT1 and AT2 Russian satellites as a result of sanctions on Russia.

Eutelsat expects revenues from OneWeb and the European IRIS2 satellites to reach more than $10 billion (€8.94bn) in the 2032-2040 period once IRIS2 becomes operational.

There was also much better news on the fast-growing Mobile Connectivity segment, which also embraces its OneWeb constellation of satellites. Revenue in Mobile Connectivity grew 38.1 per cent (year-on-year). The Aero segment remained the main growth driver, benefiting from the continued expansion of both GEO and LEO connectivity solutions. In Maritime, growth was primarily driven by the continued adoption of LEO solutions.

Its Connectivity segment also performed well, with Q1 Connectivity revenues stood at €168.3 million, up 11.9 per cent like-for-like year-on-year. The numbers reflected a 30.1 per cent rise in LEO revenues to €70.9 million, underpinned by continued commercial traction across all three verticals, as well as a 1.6 per cent increase in GEO Connectivity revenues to €97.4 million.

Eutelsat’s all-important backlog stood at €12.1 billion, helped by anticipated revenues from the upcoming IRIS² mega-constellation. Eutelsat said: “As IRIS² programme entered its construction phase, the backlog now includes revenues associated with the execution of construction-related activities under the programme, amounting to €8.9 billion. Excluding this contribution, the Connectivity and Video backlogs, now respectively standing at €1.9 and €1.2 billion, were slightly lower compared to 30 June 2026, reflecting their natural consumption.”

Overall, total revenues for Q1 stood at €286 million, down 2.4 percent on a reported basis, and 0.9 per cent like-for-like. Revenues of the four Operating Verticals stood at €278 million. They were down 2.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis, excluding a slight currency effect. Quarter-on-quarter, revenues of the four Operating Verticals were down by 18.6 per cent like-for-like.

Eutelsat reconfirmed its guidance for the year and said LEO revenues are set to drive further strong growth, with an anticipated rise of over 30 percent. “As in FY2025-26, LEO growth will offset the decline in GEO revenues, notably Video. In consequence, Eutelsat expects to deliver slight growth in the revenues of the four Operating Verticals, and an EBITDA margin at broadly the same level as last year. Gross capital expenditure is expected to amount to c. €1.2 billion.”

Eutelsat is investing heavily in future expansion of its OneWeb fleet. “Eutelsat will invest €2.23 billion in shared infrastructure and a further €1.16 billion in its own commercial infrastructure between 2027 and 2034. In return, Eutelsat will gain access to more than twice the current OneWeb capacity, supporting estimated services revenues of over €10 billion over the 2032-2040 period. The first Ka-only satellites will be launched starting in 2029. The commercial Ku-LEO constellation will be fully operational by mid-2032,” said Eutelsat.

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