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- Year to date revenues broadly in line vs prior year with strong momentum going into Q4
- Adjusted EBITDA of AED 628.3 million [USD 171.1 million] and Normalised Adjusted EBITDA of AED 643.6 million [USD 175.3 million], up 2.5% vs. prior year, generating a superior EBITDA margin of 61.6%
- Net Income (profit attributable to the shareholders) of AED 159.0 million [USD 43.3 million] and Normalised Net Income of AED 200.1 million [USD 54.5 million], up 44.3% vs. prior year, delivering a margin of 19.2% (vs. 12.9%)
- Proposal to distribute semi-annual dividends endorsed by Board and subject to shareholders’ approval; dividend to be paid in 2022 expected to be approximately 16 Fils (AED 0.16) per share
- Yahsat positioned well for future growth with contracted future revenues of over AED 7.3 billion [over USD 2 billion], underpinned by significant new Commercial and Government deals secured in Q3 2021
Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates, 07 November
2021: Al Yah Satellite
Communications Company
PJSC (“Yahsat” or “the
Group”) listed on the
Abu Dhabi Securities
Exchange (“ADX”) under
(SYMBOL: YAHSAT) (ISIN:
AEA007501017), one of
the largest providers of
multi-mission satellite
communication solutions
in the world, today
announced its financial
results for the nine
months ended 30
September 2021 (“9M
2021”).
The top line continued
to gain momentum with
revenue for the nine
months of AED 1.0
billion [USD 284.3
million], which is
broadly in line with
prior year,
demonstrating a strong
and sustained
performance since Q1
2021. A strong pipeline
across all business
lines is set to support
further revenue growth,
with a number of new
Commercial and
Government contracts
secured and further
significant deals
already signed as of the
date of this
announcement.
Yahsat maintained an
Adjusted EBITDA margin
above 60%, with Adjusted
EBITDA for the nine
months of AED 628.3
million [USD 171.1
million]. Normalised
Adjusted EBITDA of
AED 643.6 million [USD
175.3 million] exceeded
prior year by 2.5%,
generating a margin of
61.6%, higher than the
prior year margin of
58.3%, reflecting
continued cost and
working capital
efficiencies.
Net Income (profit
attributable to
shareholders) for the
nine months was AED
159.0 million [USD 43.3
million]. After
adjusting for one-off
items , Normalised Net
Income of AED 200.1
million [USD 54.5
million] exceeded prior
year by AED 61.4 million
[USD 16.7 million] (or
44.3%). Normalised Net
Income margin of 19.2%
for the nine months
significantly exceeded
the corresponding margin
of 12.9% in prior year.
Underpinning the 9M 2021
results was a resilient
Q3 performance, with
revenues broadly stable
(approximately 1% lower
than Q3 2020) and a
notable increase in
profitability, with
Normalised Adjusted
EBITDA up by AED 28.9
million [USD 7.9
million] (15.3%) and
Normalised Net Income up
by AED 31.7 million [USD
8.6 million] (99.2%).
Yahsat maintained a high
cash conversion ratio of
approximately 97% for
the period ended 30
September 2021, driven
by low maintenance
related capital
expenditure.
Key Business Updates
The T4-NGS programme,
which started in 2020,
remains on track with
several key contracts
now concluded. In June
2021, Yahsat entered
into a 15-year T4-NGS
Capacity Services
Agreement adding more
than AED 2,570 million
[more than USD 700
million] to contracted
future revenues. In
September 2021, Yahsat
selected SpaceX Falcon 9
for the launch of the
T4-NGS satellite in 2023
and awarded to Cobham
SATCOM the contract to
deliver a comprehensive
mobile broadband system,
including ground
infrastructure.
The success of the
refinancing programme of
AED 2,572.6 million [USD
700.5 million], which
was completed in June
2021, boosted the
Group’s already strong
cash position, and
supported a healthy Net
Debt to EBITDA ratio of
0.5x as at 30 September
2021.
Attractive Dividend
Policy
In October 2021, the
Board of Directors of
Yahsat endorsed
management’s
recommendation to update
the Group’s current
dividend policy,
allowing it to
distribute dividends on
a semi-annual basis
going forward. The
updated policy is
subject to shareholder
approval at the next AGM
in 2022. This reflects
the Board’s confidence
in the financial
strength of the
business, a positive
outlook on cash flow and
Yahsat’s ability to fund
future investments.
A final dividend of AED
192.8 million [USD 52.5
million] for the
financial year 2021 is
expected to be paid to
all shareholders in
April 2022, bringing the
total dividend for the
year 2021 to AED 385.6
million [USD 105
million].
The dividend is expected
to grow by at least 2%
per year , with the
below illustrating the
expected annual
dividends to be paid per
share:
|
Total dividend to be paid in calendar year (sum of interim and final dividends) in AE Fils per share |
Year of payment |
|
15.96 |
2022 |
|
16.28 |
2023 |
|
16.61 |
2024 |
Please refer to the Legal Notice at the end of this release for a discussion regarding the factors that influence dividend payments generally.
Commenting on the results, Ali Al Hashemi, Chief Executive Officer at Yahsat said:
“We continue to see a strong performance in our revenues coupled with high levels of profitability and cash flow. We are laying the foundations for future growth, by signing new deals across our Commercial and Government businesses, which add to our contracted future revenues and underpin our commitment to a progressive dividend.”
“Our recent appointment by the UAE Government to assess the expansion of our existing fleet with two potential new satellites presents Yahsat with significant additional growth opportunities across the business, further enhancing our longer-term outlook.”
Al Hashemi added, “We remain on track to achieve all our strategic objectives, financially and operationally, supported by the rapid post-pandemic recovery of our business segments globally. We will continue forging partnerships with the world’s most innovative companies to enhance our competitiveness and continue to create value for our customers, shareholders and the UAE.”
Revenue by Operating Segments
Revenue by operating segments, year-on-year comparison and % changes year-on-year (YoY) are provided in the table below.
|
AED millions |
Q1 2021 |
Q2 2021 |
Q3 2021 |
9M 2021 |
Q1 2020 |
Q2 2020 |
Q3 2020 |
9M 2020 |
|
Infrastructure |
220.2 |
220.2 |
217.8 |
658.2 |
217.9 |
217.6 |
217.7 |
653.2 |
|
Change YoY |
1.0% |
1.2% |
0.0% |
0.8% |
|
|
|
|
|
Managed Solutions |
44.3 |
62.4 |
47.3 |
154.0 |
57.8 |
61.6 |
42.1 |
161.4 |
|
Change YoY |
-23.4% |
1.3% |
12.4% |
-4.6% |
|
|
|
|
|
Mobility Solutions |
46.6 |
61.2 |
60.7 |
168.5 |
57.1 |
65.7 |
63.1 |
185.9 |
|
Change YoY |
-18.3% |
-6.9% |
-3.9% |
-9.4% |
|
|
|
|
|
Data Solutions |
20.2 |
23.3 |
19.9 |
63.4 |
24.6 |
24.6 |
27.2 |
76.4 |
|
Change YoY |
-17.9% |
-5.3% |
-26.9% |
-17.0% |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Revenue |
331.3 |
367.1 |
345.6 |
1044.1 |
357.4 |
369.5 |
350.1 |
1076.9 |
|
Change YoY |
-7.3% |
-0.6% |
-1.3% |
-3.1% |
|
|
|
|
|
Cumulative (Year-to-date) Change YoY |
-7.3% |
-3.9% |
-3.1% |
-3.1% |
|
|
|
|
Q3 revenues of AED 345.6 million [USD 94.1 million] remained robust and were broadly in line with prior year. On a YTD basis, revenues have continued to recover with total revenues of AED 1.0 billion [USD 284.3 million] now just 3.1% lower vs. prior year, recovering from -7.3% at Q1 2021.
Revenues from the largest segment, Infrastructure, remained solid with an increase of AED 5.0 million [USD 1.4 million] (or 0.8%), year-on-year, to AED 658.2 million [USD 179.2 million].
Managed Solutions continued its growth with Q3 2021 revenues of AED 47.3 million [USD 12.9 million], outperforming prior year by AED 5.2 million [USD 1.4 million] (or 12.4%). During the quarter, it continued to capture new business and grow its contracted future revenues by more than AED 40.4 million [USD 11 million]. On a year-to-date basis, revenues of AED 154.0 million [USD 41.9 million] are now just 4.6% lower than prior year compared to -23.4% at Q1 2021. The year-on-year shortfall reflects temporary COVID-19 related delays to certain projects although, for certain programmes, there is clear evidence that the situation is improving.
Mobility Solutions also reported a strong performance with Q3 revenues of AED 60.7 million [USD 16.5 million], in line with Q2. The total revenues of AED 168.5 million [USD 45.9 million] for the nine months are 9.4% lower than prior year, significantly better than the year-on-year shortfall of -18.3% at Q1 2021. The recovery is expected to continue into Q4 and beyond, underpinned by the recent signing of a significant 3-year distribution contract with a global service provider worth more than AED 316 million [USD 86 million] and continued expansion of the Maritime business, in particular across high growth markets in Asia, such as Vietnam.
Data Solutions reported revenues for the nine months of AED 63.4 million [USD 17.3 million], AED 13.0 million [USD 3.5 million] lower than prior year reflecting the wind down in July 2021 of a multi-year, opportunistic capacity deal with Eutelsat, complementary to the core data solutions strategy. In parallel the Consumer Broadband business continued to accelerate with subscriber numbers up 16% in the nine months and corresponding revenues increasing by 24%, underpinned by rapid expansion of the Direct-to-Market (‘DTM’) model in South Africa. This growth is expected to continue as subscribers continue to ramp up in South Africa and the DTM model is rolled out across other major markets (including Nigeria) in Q4. The pipeline of Enterprise and Carrier Wholesale deals continues to grow with 5 new deals signed in Q3 adding more than AED 40.4 million [USD 11 million] to contracted future revenues with several further deals expected to be signed in Q4 with increasing uptake in Cellular Backhaul. As both the Consumer Broadband and Enterprise and Carrier Wholesale businesses increase in scale, Data Solutions is poised for growth in 2022.
Key Financial Highlights
|
AED millions |
Q3-2021 |
Q3-2020 |
QoQ % |
9M 2021 |
9M 2020 |
YoY % |
|
Revenue |
345.6 |
350.1 |
-1.3% |
1,044.1 |
1,076.9 |
-3.1% |
|
Cost of Revenue |
(33.7) |
(27.9) |
-20.6% |
(83.0) |
(75.1) |
-10.4% |
|
Staff costs |
(92.3) |
(80.2) |
-15.0% |
(242.0) |
(244.7) |
1.1% |
|
Other operating expenses |
(19.2) |
(54.5) |
64.7% |
(97.3) |
(133.6) |
27.2% |
|
Other Income |
2.3 |
47.5 |
-95.1% |
6.5 |
56.0 |
-88.4% |
|
Adjusted EBITDA |
202.7 |
235.0 |
-13.7% |
628.3 |
679.4 |
-7.5% |
|
Normalised Adjusted EBITDA |
218.0 |
189.1 |
15.3% |
643.6 |
628.0 |
2.5% |
|
Net Income (Profit attributable to the shareholders) |
48.5 |
77.9 |
-37.8% |
159.0 |
190.1 |
-16.3% |
|
Normalised Net Income |
63.8 |
32.0 |
99.2% |
200.1 |
138.6 |
44.3% |
|
Adjusted EBITDA Margin % |
58.7% |
67.1% |
|
60.2% |
63.1% |
|
|
Normalised Adjusted EBITDA Margin % |
63.1% |
54.0% |
|
61.6% |
58.3% |
|
|
Normalised Net Income Margin % |
18.4% |
9.1% |
|
19.2% |
12.9% |
|
|
Cash and short-term deposits |
|
|
|
1,462.9 |
826.0* |
77.1% |
