Betzdorf: TECHz – News Desk
SES S.A. announced its financial results for the first quarter ended 31 March 2026, reporting strong year-on-year growth following the consolidation of Intelsat. Revenue for Q1 2026 reached €847 million, up from €509 million in the same period last year on a reported basis, representing an increase of 80.5% at constant foreign exchange rates. On a like-for-like basis, revenue increased 3.1% from €909 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose to €404 million from €280 million in Q1 2025, marking a 57.0% increase at constant FX, while like-for-like adjusted EBITDA grew 5.0% from €425 million.
The company said Networks revenue increased 106.0% year-on-year, driven by continued growth in Mobility and Government services. Mobility revenue rose 207.8%, helped by a positive impact from a contract restructuring in Aviation, while Government revenue increased 50.7%. Media revenue was up 42.9%, which SES said was in line with expectations. During the quarter, SES signed €306 million worth of new business and contract renewals.
Adel Al-Saleh, CEO, SES S.A.: “Q1 2026 marks a solid start to the year for SES as a combined company with focused execution across our Networks and Media businesses, underpinning confidence in our strategy and in-line with our reiterated financial outlook for 2026. Networks, now accounting for around two thirds of total revenues, delivered growth led by continued momentum in Mobility and Government. Additionally, in our Fixed Data business we have taken decisive actions to mitigate competitive pressures. During the quarter, our Aviation business benefitted from nearly 600 aircraft now flying with the SES multi-orbit inflight connectivity system, delivering fast, dependable internet access to millions of passengers.”
He added that SES secured additional aircraft commitments in the quarter, including more than 40 long-haul aircraft from Japan Airlines, while SES and Boeing reached a milestone toward a factory line-fit solution for the multi-orbit system across all Boeing aircraft models.
The company also highlighted continued momentum in its Government business, supported by global government demand and participation in the IRIS² project. SES said it extended its EGNOS GEO-1 satellite service agreement with the European Union Agency for the Space Programme through 2030 to help maintain high-precision navigation services across Europe.
SES confirmed that O3b mPOWER satellites 9 and 10 began serving customers in February 2026, boosting network capacity and resilience. Satellites 11, 12, and 13 are expected to launch in the second half of the year. The company also recently announced plans to deploy meoSphere, its next-generation medium Earth orbit satellite network targeted for operation by 2030. SES said the system is designed to significantly increase MEO network capacity and will include software-defined payloads paired with 28 high-power satellite buses developed by K2 Space.
On its financial position, SES reported net leverage of 4.1 times, including cash and cash equivalents of €874 million. The company also noted that it successfully raised €650 million in SPACE Hybrid securities in March, with the issuance oversubscribed five times. On 2 April 2026, shareholders approved all resolutions at the company’s AGM, while the final 2025 dividend of €104 million – equivalent to €0.25 per A-share and €0.10 per B-share – was paid on 16 April 2026.
SES reiterated its 2026 financial outlook on a like-for-like and constant FX basis, stating that both revenue and adjusted EBITDA are expected to remain stable year-on-year. Capital expenditure is projected to be around €700 million, including investments related to IRIS² and the first phase of the meoSphere programme.
Adel Al-Saleh, CEO, SES S.A.: “Building on this solid first quarter, we are well on track to deliver on our 2026 financial targets with mPOWER satellites 9&10 now in service, mPOWER satellites 11, 12, and 13 expected to launch in H2 2026. Synergies execution of both OpEx and CapEx are progressing well. Staff costs are down 20% and overall OpEx is down 9% year-on-year at constant currency on a like-for-like basis. We continue to evaluate our future CapEx plans and have decided to cancel certain programs that do not meet our target returns underpinning our 2026 CapEx outlook of around €700 million.”
