Celebrate our 150th anniversary with fantastic savings on a joint magazine and IC Advantage subscription.
The successful commercial launch of a third Inmarsat-4 satellite in January laid the foundation for solid results from the satellite communications group, with Inmarsat able to offer full global coverage for the first time.
Advertising
Underlying sales in the core Inmarsat business climbed 8 per cent to $337m (£200m), driven by strong demand for its new maritime voice and data services, Fleet and FleetBroadband. Revenues in the maritime business climbed 5.2 per cent to $177m, although this was held back by changes to the phasing of volume discounts. Chairman and chief executive Andrew Sukawaty says that on a normalised basis, maritime sales growth would have been nearer 10 per cent. Data remained the key engine of growth, though, thanks to increased government usage in the Indian Ocean and what Mr Sukawaty describes as rising "social access to crews as a retention staff".
The land mobile business did less well, as troop withdrawals from Iraq hit traffic levels, but Mr Sukawaty is confident on long-term prospects despite volatility caused by what he describes as "constant changes in the status of operations". Meanwhile, the smaller aeronautical business saw sales climb by a quarter to $35.5m as more aircraft were fitted with its Swift 64 in-flight broadband terminals. Inmarsat also exercised its option to buy distribution business Stratos in April.
Analysts expect full-year adjusted pre-tax profits of $230m and EPS of 35¢ ($182m and 27¢, respectively, in 2008).
INMARSAT (ISAT) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 547p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.51bn | |
| TOUCH: | 547-548p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 614p | LOW: 300p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.4% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 206¢* | NET DEBT: | 149% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 485 | 87.8 | 13.0 | 12.1 |
| 2009 | 508 | 97.0 | 16.0 | 12.7 |
| % change | +5 | +10 | +23 | +5 |
Ex-div: 30 Sep Payment: 30 Oct *Includes intangible assets of $1.0bn, or 221¢ a share £1=$1.68 |
||||
Guide to the terms used in IC results tables.
More analysis of company results
Inmarsat has proved relatively untroubled by the wider problems of the shipping industry and, with major capital expenditure programmes now complete, it has a strong platform for growth in place. Good value.
Last IC View: Good value, 441p, 16 Mar 2009
Free access to financial data, charts, portfolio tools and more - registration is quick, secure and free!
Profit from IC share tips; discover the benefits of IC Advantage and sign up for a free trial.
© The Financial Times Limited 2010. All rights reserved. "Investors Chronicle", "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of The Financial Times Limited. No part of these web pages may be reproduced or transmitted to or stored in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the editor.
Warning: Do remember, particularly if you are new to stock market investment that the prices of shares and other investments can fall sharply. You may not get back the money you originally invested. The material here is for general information only and is not intended to be relied upon for individual investment decisions. Take independent advice before making such decisions. This site is aimed at UK residents only. To read more please see our Important Warning
v6.2.10.5 running on www.investorschronicle.co.uk
