NETHERLANDS: Global satellite communications company New Skies Satellites has reported revenues of $ 52 million for the three month period ended 31 March 2003.
The revenues represent an increase of $0.2 million as compared to $51.8 million for the same period last year. Operating expenses, excluding depreciation, decreased by $0.2 million from $23.2 million to $23.0 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2003. The company has stated that this decrease reflects its success in managing costs incurred in response to the difficult business climate. .
Net income for the period was $3.6 million compared to a net loss of $17.0 million in the same period last year.
The first quarter operating highlights include
New Skies and Intelsat Global Sales & Marketing, Ltd signed an agreement during the quarter to use their existing orbital and satellite resources at a single orbital location to expand their respective commercial service offerings to the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
BT Broadcast Services doubled their capacity on the NSS-7 satellite to support the expanding Media Overseas direct-to-home television platform servicing West Africa.
Commenting on the quarter, New Skies CEO Dan Goldberg said, "The NSS-7 and NSS-6 satellites launched last year allowed us to augment our fleet with new and desirable capacity, and have attracted a number of key customers. Although we expect this capacity to drive our growth and profitability going forward, the addition of these satellites entails higher depreciation costs in comparison to prior periods.
New Skies Satellites is one of only four fixed satellite communications companies with truly global satellite coverage, offering video, voice, data and Internet communications services to a range of telecommunications carriers, broadcasters, large corporations and Internet service providers around the world. New Skies has six satellites in orbit, ground facilities around the world and one additional spacecraft under construction. The company also has secured certain rights to make use of additional orbital positions for future growth.
New Skies is headquartered in The Hague, The Netherlands, and has offices in New Delhi, Beijing, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Washington, D.C.