Israel based RRsat delivered record revenue results in the second quarter of 2013. Image credit: RRsat

[Satellite TODAY 08-13-13] Israel-based RRsat Global Communications Network, reported a record quarterly revenue increase during the second quarter of 2013, which ended on June 30. The company, a provider of digital content management and global distribution services to the television and radio broadcasting industries, reached $29.5 million in revenues.

      “Our continued robust performance allowed us to deliver excellent free cash flow and preserved a strong balance sheet. We are proud of our results and are very optimistic regarding our future,” said Avi Cohen, CEO of RRsat during a conference call with investors Aug. 8.

       Industry analysts agreed noting that “RRSat had a strong quarter, which points to solid fundamentals as the company pursues its corporate strategy,” said David Vaccaro program manager with Futron Corporation, a space consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. “The company’s glocalization business model, which merges worldwide distribution scope with locally-relevant content, seems to be working for RRsat.”

      The record revenues of $29.5 million reflect an increase of 5.1 percent compared to the $28.1 million earned during the same quarter in 2012.

      “We delivered record quarterly revenue while increasing our backlog to $205 million as of June 30, 2013, demonstrating strong demand [for] our services,” Cohen said. The backlog is significant, he said, noting that “backlog is the leading indicator for our contracted, long-term recurring business which is a strong indication for the remainder of 2013 and beyond.”

       Moving forward, RRsat is looking to expand its presence in Europe and has already opened an office in Moscow. RRsat’s Moscow office is a step toward establishing a presence in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a market of tens of millions of households, company officials previously told Via Satellite.

      This step has been preceded by efforts to assemble the required infrastructure, including local premium platforms, strategic partnerships and alliances, and the recruitment of a local team to provide tailored solutions for broadcasting in and out of this region.

       “The company’s recent opening of a Moscow office represents new penetration into a key market: the Russian market is increasingly important, in terms of content demand, as a destination for European and American media and entertainment offerings,” Vaccaro said. “By some metrics, it is the third or fourth largest media market in the world.”

Vaccaro also interprets RRsat’s positive results as a good sign for the industry. He said the results could indicate a “larger movement in the content distribution and satellite industries toward restored health. As world markets have stabilized and the recession’s worst effects have begun to recede, consumer confidence is rising. Commensurately, industry contracts, terms, and timeframes, are becoming somewhat more normalized after a period of constraint,” he said.