Thaicom is targeting revenue growth of 30-80% in 2010, as it hopes to be one of the beneficiaries of Australia’s universal broadband project.
The Thai satellite operator reduced losses for 2009 to Bt471m (US$14.2m) from Bt713m in 2008.
Total revenue rose…
Thaicom is targeting revenue growth of 30-80% in 2010, as it hopes to be one of the beneficiaries of Australia’s universal broadband project.
The Thai satellite operator reduced losses for 2009 to Bt471m (US$14.2m) from Bt713m in 2008.
Total revenue rose 2.5 % to Bt7.188bn from Bt7.013bn, but Thaicom’s main satellite business saw revenue fall 1.7% to Bt4.506bn.
The satellite revenue drop was the result of a sharp decline of 28% in sales of user terminals for its flagship broadband satellite IPSTAR. Terminal sales brought in just Bt 86m compared to Bt1.37bn in 2008.
This downturn is partly due to the fact that IPSTAR services have still not been launched in India and Taiwan. It is also down to the fact that during 2009 Thaicom made a conscious shift to selling IPSTAR bandwidth and services rather than user terminals, a move that is reflected in a 29% increase in IPSTAR service revenue.
Australia and New Zealand remain IPSTAR’s strongest markets, accounting for 56% of sales. Thaicom stated that it has been in discussion with the Australian National Broadband Network Company to commit more satellite capacity to aid in the expansion of future broadband coverage.
Thaicom’s overall results were boosted by strong growth in its telephony division which saw revenue leap by 11.4% to Bt2.147bn. Its traditional broadcast satellite business remained stable, with revenue growth of 1.6% to Bt 2.338bn.
The company is conducting a feasibility study into purchasing a new satellite. It is understood that a decision will be made over the course of the next two quarters.
