AsiaSat has reported a relatively flat1H profit of HK$400.7 million ($51.6 million), and has warned that its stable performance may not continue into the second half.
After several years of record results, profit for 1H13 increased just 1.5%. Revenue declined 25% to HK$767 million, but this was largely due to one-off gains from a year earlier.
The company won new contracts worth a total of HK$234 million in 1H13, compared to HK$91 million in 1H12. But the value of renewed contracts slumped to HK$181 million from HK$1.4 billion.
A 24% reduction in operating expenses to HK$96 million – again mostly due to one-off items from 1H12 - helped negate the revenue decline.
AsiaSat chairman Ju Wei Min also said that the company expects “a reduction in turnover and profit [during the second half] as we will feel the full effect of the renegotiated contracts with one of our longest-standing customers at terms lower than the previous contracts.”
But new satellite launches planned for 2014 are expected to fuel improvements to the company's balance sheet that year, he said.
The company expects to be able to launch AsiaSat 6 in Q1 2014 and AsiaSat 8 in Q2.. This will bring its total operational fleet of in-orbit satellites to six, although the in-orbit AsiaSat 7 is scheduled to replace AsiaSat 3S sometime in 2014.
By the end of the first half, the total utilization rate for AsiaSat's existing satellites was 79%.