SES’ 2012 first quarter EBITDA was 4.9 percent higher than its results in the same period last year, reaching 337.3 million euros ($436.6 million). Its contract backlog increased modestly from 6.591 billion euros ($8.53 billion) in the 2011 opening quarter to 6.831 billion euros ($8.84 million) in its most recent quarter.

   During the past three months, SES launched the SES-4 satellite and brought it into service in mid-April, activating as many as 124 transponders in the Atlantic Ocean region serving the Americas and EMEA to represent a significant growth driver for the company.

   SES President and CEO Romain Bausch, President and CEO said his company passed a major milestone as satellite’s market reach grew beyond that of cable and of terrestrial reception in Europe.

   “HDTV is driving this positive development, with a number of capacity agreements having been signed, notably in Germany following the analogue switch-off at the end of April,” Bausch said in a statement. “Significant capacity agreements were also concluded in Latin America, the United Kingdom and the Middle East. We are proud to have been chosen to support the BBC and BSkyB’s coverage of the London Olympic Games with 48 channels in HD and SD, covering all the major events throughout the Games.”