Riding high on the UAE government’s ambitious plans to embrace space technology, Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) has delivered exceptional third-quarter results (ending 30 September, 2022) with revenues and EBITDA soaring by 16 percent and 21 percent respectively year-on-year.
The performance of the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider was underpinned by a stellar performance in its Managed Solutions business. Together with the stable, long-term contracted Infrastructure business, end-to-end managed services serve the requirements of the UAE Government and government-related bodies for secure satellite communications capacity.
The company also revealed that its contracted future revenue of AED7.6 billion ($2.1 billion) is equivalent to more than five times the annual revenue for the full 2021 year.
Filing the results at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), Yahsat declared revenue of AED1.2 billion ($315 million) for the nine months, up 11 percent year-on-year, spurred by double-digit growth in Managed Solutions and Mobility Solutions.
Adjusted EBITDA was AED694 million ($189 million), up 10 percent year-on-year, delivering a margin of over 60 percent. Normalised Net Income was AED278 million ($76 million), up 39 percent year-on-year and achieving a strong margin of 24 percent. NNI is adjusted for material, one-off items recorded during the current and comparative periods that would otherwise distort the performance.
Ali Al Hashemi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Yahsat, commented: “Our core government business has performed particularly well with quarterly revenues in our Managed Solutions business more than doubling year-on-year. Through the procurement of the T4-NGS satellite, which we expect to launch in the first half of 2024 and enter operations in the first half of 2025, we remain well positioned to meet the UAE Government’s increasing demand for advanced satellite communication solutions.
“T4-NGS will also strongly support our commercial operations in Mobility Solutions, which achieved double-digit revenue growth during the first nine months of the year.”
Al Hashemi said Yahsat is thinking of procuring two new satellites, which have been tentatively named Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5.
“The purchase of the two new satellites remains under consideration for launch in 2026. This will secure continuity of service well beyond the lifetime of our existing fleet,” added Al Hashemi.
“Our industry is witnessing an exciting period of significant innovation and investment. Yahsat is in a strong financial position with a robust balance sheet and a large and visible backlog of contracted future revenues, providing it with the capacity to invest and pursue future growth opportunities.”
Yahsat said it was on track to grow full year 2022 dividend by at least 2 percent to AED16.12 fils ($4.39) per share or AED393 million ($107 million). It recently paid 50 percent of the amount as an interim dividend.
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