[Satellite Today – 4-28-08] SES has seen a strong increase in net profits for the quarter ended March 31, reporting earnings of 120.9 million euros ($189 million), the company announced April 28. In the 2007 first quarter, SES reported profits of 97.7 million euros ($152.7 million).
    The profit gains came in the face of declining revenues. In the 2008 first quarter, SES reported overall revenues of 390.6 million euros ($610.6 million), down from revenues of 392 million euros ($612.8 million) a year ago. SES cited the weak performance of the dollar against the euro as the main reason behind this fall.
    The operator reported a slight increase in overall transponder utilization rates across its fleet. At the end of March, the utilization rate was 77.3 percent across the operator’s fleet, up less than 1 percent compared to the end of December.
    SES delivered a “a strong financial performance,” Romain Bausch, SES’s CEO, said in a statement. “Despite the launch failure of AMC-14 and the continued decline of the U.S. dollar against the euro, SES remains on a positive growth track to deliver increased revenue. The way our business is structured means that, although exchange differences might affect our top line, at the bottom line where we deliver value to shareholders, exchange movements have only marginal impact.”