Finance
Satellite group SES beats forecasts as defence spending rises in Europe
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on July 31, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on July 31, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
SES surpasses Q2 forecasts, driven by European defence spending. The company completed a $3.1 billion Intelsat acquisition, aiming to compete with Starlink.
(Reuters) -European satellite company SES reported second-quarter results above market expectations and confirmed its 2025 guidance on Thursday, buoyed by its strong backlog of government contracts.
"We have a robust pipeline of Government opportunities supported by increased defence spending in Europe," CEO Abdel Al-Saleh said in a statement.
SES recently completed its $3.1 billion acquisition of rival Intelsat, aiming to position itself as a key European competitor to Elon Musk's Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper alongside French peer Eutelsat.
It has forecasted 1.8 billion euros in annual operating profit for the newly-merged entity, and recently appointed David Broadbent, formerly with Intelsat, to lead the combined government and defence divisions.
The Luxembourg-based company signed 690 million euros ($789.15 million) worth of new contracts in the first half of 2025, with a gross backlog of 4.2 billion euros at the end of the period.
Its total revenue reached 469 million euros in the second quarter, ahead of analysts' 464 million euro forecast provided by SES.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at 241 million euros, which also beat market forecast of 232 million euros.
($1 = 0.8744 euros)
(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
SES reported total revenue of 469 million euros in the second quarter, surpassing analysts' forecast of 464 million euros.
SES recently completed its acquisition of rival Intelsat for $3.1 billion.
SES has forecasted an annual operating profit of 1.8 billion euros for the newly-merged entity.
At the end of the period, SES had a gross backlog of 4.2 billion euros.
David Broadbent, formerly with Intelsat, has been appointed to lead the combined government and defence operations.
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