Inmarsat in boost from its US partner
Satellite communications firm Inmarsat bounced back from a tricky summer as its spectrum sharing deal with US partner LightSquared began to pay off.
A $56m (£35.05m) boost to its top line from LightSquared offset a continued decline in its maritime satellite revenue as the trend towards less expensive data rather than premium voice calls continued.
Its total revenues jumped 18 per cent to $364m, with total active customer terminals rising 12.5 per cent year-on-year.
Chairman and chief executive Andrew Sukawaty said: “While third-quarter maritime services results were in line with our expectations, as previously stated, we are unlikely to see consistent evidence of a return to MSS revenue growth until next year.
“While our core has its challenges there’s no change in our view for the rest of the year.
“The seeds for our future growth has been developing well.”
Inmarsat is expected to realise a long-expected restructuring of its top team at the start of next year, with the chief executive and chairman roles being split.
Rupert Pearce, Inmarsat’s senior vice president of its Inmarsat Enterprises business, will become its new group chief executive from January, while Sukawaty will become executive chairman.