The new satellite will be named Eutelsat 8 West B and will be designated to the operator’s 8 degrees West orbital slot. The manufacturer of the satellite has yet to be disclosed. With the addition of Eutelsat 8 West B, the operator has six satellites on track for launch by the end of 2014. Eutelsat CEO Michel de Rosen said the new capacity delivered by the satellite would be used to fuel growth following its acquisition of the GE-23 satellite and to drive expansion in the Asia-Pacific region after the close of transaction in the second half of this year.

   “Demand for transponder capacity across our footprint remains strong and we continue to optimize the fleet of current and upcoming satellites in order to capture growth in the video, data and broadband markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia,” de Rosen said in a statement. “With [the Ka-Sat satellite], the foundations have been laid for a long-term business which is progressively expanding the scope of satellite services and providing a complement to Ku-band capacity.”

   Eutelsat’s 2012 full-year revenues increased 4.6 percent to 1.222 billion euros ($1.5 billion). The operator’s video-based applications enjoyed a 5.8 percent increase, with its full-year EBITDA leaping 78.3 percent year-over-year, representing one of the highest growth rates in the industry. Eutelsat also reported a solid order backlog of more than 5 billion euros ($6.14 billion) and a channel count of 4,261 as of June 30 — an increase from the 3,880 channels it supported in the same timeframe last year. Eutelsat’s HD channel count also increased 57 percent to 346 from 220 in 2011.

   “For the three years to June 2015, we target revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5 percent to 6 percent,” said de Rosen. “In the current year, we aim for revenue growth of 3 percent to 4 percent, pending the availability of two new satellites that are due to launch in the first half of the fiscal year that will benefit data and multi-usage activities.    We remain committed to delivering profitable growth and shareholder value, targeting an EBITDA margin of around 77 percent in each of the next three years, and upgrading our dividend policy with a payout ratio of 65 percent to 75 percent from the previous floor of 50 percent.”

  Market analysts, however, noted the absence of detailed information on the financial performance of Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat and its TooWay broadband service, which has been active for several years. Eutelsat currently maintains 52,450 TooWay subscribers and the operator said that the take-up of TooWay had only recently seen a significant acceleration of activity between January and June of 2012.

   “The rollout of professional Value Added Services on Ka-Sat has been slower than anticipated,” Eutelsat said in its financial report. “We are implementing measures to strengthen the commercial organization around Ka-Sat services, including refining products and distribution channel management. The performance of Tooway was notably increased, to deliver higher speeds and volumes.”

   Regardless, Eutelsat said it would maintain a positive full-year outlook across each of its business units. The company said it would focus on optimizing current in-orbit resources and on upcoming launches. Eutelsat’s multi-usage business is targeting demand for unmanned aerial vehicles, which will require significant transponder capacity that is expected to increase six-fold in the next 10 years.

   “Video applications will continue to be driven by a solid base of business at established video neighborhoods from pay-TV and free-to-air clients who are progressively adding HDTV channels to standard digital services and preparing to diversify into a new generation of bandwidth-hungry services, such as 3-D and Ultra HD,” de Rosen said. “Data Services activity will be boosted by sustained demand in corporate networks and broadband access in Russia and Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia Pacific. Value Added Services growth will be generated by increasing demand for broadband from consumers and enterprises located in areas unserved or underserved by terrestrial networks. The recently published EU Digital Scorecard indicates 10 million unserved households in the European Union alone.”

   According to a recent study by Euroconsult, HD should represent more than 17 percent of satellite channels by 2016. In 2011, HD accounted for 7 percent of satellite channels in the extended European and sub-Saharan African regions.