While a global economic credit crunch has affected many industries and many countries grapple with debt problems, the satellite industry continues to perform well, although growth was slowed in 2009. The State of the Satellite Industry Report, prepared by Futron. Corp for the Satellite Industry Association (SIA), provides a compelling snapshot of the industry across a variety of sectors and metrics.
According to the report, worldwide satellite industry revenues were nearly $161 billion in 2009, an increase of 11 percent compared to 2008. This was the slowest growth since 2004-2005, however, the bigger picture is still promising, as worldwide satellite industry revenues have virtually doubled from 2004 to 2009.
“We see the same trends continuing in the next year,” says Andrea Maleter, technical director, Futron. “Despite the anticipation that consumer spending patterns might have negatively impacted discretionary spending in areas such as direct-to-home television, a major part of the satellite revenue base, this area has continued to grow, driving not only services revenues but also demand for new satellites, launchers and user equipment.
According to the SIA, revenues from the satellite manufacturing sector reached $13.5 billion, a 29 percent increase compared to 2008. “Futron counted 41 commercial GEO satellite orders announced in 2009, nearly double the numbers of 2008,” Maleter says. “We have seen 19 so far in 2010 (including the three Inmarsat Ka-band satellites ordered from Boeing), so I think we’re on the path to another strong year. This does not include the Iridium constellation, which is another very large addition. .”
Satellite service revenues grow by more than 10 percent in 2009, reaching $93 billion, compared to $84 billion in 2008. Revenues in this area have doubled between 2004 and 2009. Revenues derived from launch services reach $4.5 billion in 2009, an 18 percent increase from to 2008.
The biggest revenue percentage increase in the last few years has occurred in the ground equipment segment. In 2004, worldwide revenues from ground equipment services were less than $23 billion. By 2009, revenues reached $49.9 billion, with an 8 percent increase compared to 2008. For the first time, the ground equipment segment represents more than 30 percent of overall industry revenues. Satellite services still account for the majority of revenues, representing 58 percent of the sector total.
Paris-based consultancy, Euroconsult also paints a bright picture for the satellite business in its “Satellite Communications & Broadcasting Markets Survey, Forecasts to 2019.” According to Euroconsult, 2009 was a record year for satellite procurements by FSS operators, with more 30 new orders. The largest campaigns are by Intelsat, SES and Eutelsat, with 22 total satellites ordered.
Euroconsult says capacity leased by the four leading operators totalled around 3,725 transponders, for a market share of 65 percent, and a net increase of 150 transponders. Regional operators added about 300 transponders in 2009 for a total of more than 2,000 transponders leased — increasing their market share from 33 percent to 35 percent in two years. Fast-growing regional operators such as Arabsat, Spacecom, RSCC, Star One and Singtel Optus benefited from strong dynamics in their respective emerging markets.
Prospects for the FSS sector “remain solid,” says Pacome Revillon, managing director, Euroconsult. “Last year, a slowdown was observed, with a 5.3 percent revenue growth for operators. Worth noticing, reasons for the slowdown were multiple, and included limited additions of capacity supply. Still, we saw, for example, a lower number of satellite pay-TV platforms entering the market, which impacted market growth in certain areas. In 2010-2011, we anticipate a growth of 5 percent to 6 percent, with sustained demand for broadcasting and communication services.”
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