Eutelsat’s Skylogic Mediterraneo teleport in Sardinia. Credit: Eutelsat

Eutelsat Group grew operating revenue by 5.9% year-over-year in the operator’s first full year with OneWeb as part of the business, despite a slower-than-expected rollout of OneWeb service. 

Overall, Eutelsat reported 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in revenue in fiscal year 2023-24, announced August 9. 

Adjusted EBITDA of 719 million euros ($785 million) was down 13% year-over-year due to higher operating costs with impact from the OneWeb consolidation. 

The Mobile Connectivity and Fixed Connectivity segments drove growth to offset decline in Video revenue, due to OneWeb’s Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) capacity but also from incremental Geostationary Orbit (GEO) capacity. 

Video remains the highest-earning segment and it is still more than half of Eutelsat’s revenue, but that percentage is rapidly declining. Last year, Video contributed 62% of Eutelsat’s revenue and this year it was 54% of all revenue. 

In fiscal year 2023-24, Video reported 651 million euros ($711 million) in revenue for the year, down 6.8% year-over-year. While the broadcast market is declining, Eutelsat was also impacted in the first half of the year by sanctions against Russian and Iranian channels, and a non-renewal from Turkish TV provider Digitürk. 

Mobile Connectivity increased revenue by nearly 50% in the fiscal year, reaching 159 million euros ($174 million). Mobile Connectivity is now 13% of company revenue. OneWeb contributed to the growth, along with the entry into service of Eutelsat 10B. 

Fixed Connectivity also saw strong growth, growing 29% compared to the prior year. Fixed Connectivity revenue of 234 million euros ($256 million) is 19% of company revenue. OneWeb LEO capacity, along with Konnect VHTS satellite, and transferring Konnect capacity to Africa all contributed to the growth. 

Government Services saw modest 5% year-over-year growth, reporting 165 million euros ($180 million). 

Eutelsat’s backlog grew nearly 15% during the year, to 3.9 billion euros ($4.3 billion) as of June 30. The operator reported that connectivity services now account for 56% of the backlog, versus 40% a year ago. In addition, OneWeb’s contribution is offsetting the Video decline. 

CEO Eva Berneke commented in a news release that the OneWeb operational roll-out “has been more challenging than anticipated.” Eutelsat is adopting a “progressive approach” to procuring the next generation of OneWeb’s constellation.

“Future investments will firstly ensure continuity of business for our customers and will be adapted to the rampup of LEO network usage, opportunities for partnerships with both institutional and commercial players, financing options with partners, and technology maturity,” the operator said. 

Eutelsat expects combined fiscal year 2025 revenues of the four operating verticals to be around the same level as fiscal year 2024 at constant currency and perimeter.

“We remain confident in our ability to grow connectivity revenues in LEO, whilst maintaining market share in GEO, based on both independent market forecasts as well as our in-market experience of customer appetite for multi-orbit capacity,” the company said in its outlook.