UAE's Space42 record $95m in 9-month net income for first results after creation
Created by Bayanat-Yahsat merger, Space42 says 'margins remain strong'
Dubai: The ADX-listed Space42 got a 17% profit boost for the nine months to the end of September, totalling $119 million, when the financials are taken on a pro forma basis. These are the first set of results after the merger between Bayanat and Yahsat to create Space42 as one of the world’s biggest publicly-listed space-tech companies.
When the financials are taken on a normalized basis, the net income would be $95 million, 10% lower than the year before. This was mainly from the ‘first-time adoption of corporate tax in the UAE’.
“For both normalized EBITDA and net income, margins remained strong and in line with the prior year reflecting continuing efforts to optimize the cost base,” said a statement.
It was October 1 that the Bayanat-Yahsat merger was formally effected.
“As we integrate our capabilities and assets across the value chain, our strategy will be firmly focused on profitable growth, pursuing programs that bring incremental value and where we can sustain a distinct advantage, investing in new capabilities and unlocking opportunities which can be materially scaled,” said Karim Sabbagh, Managing Director of Space42.
Sizable contractual clout
Space42 can point to its already contracted future revenues of $7.1 billion, which is now equivalent toabout 10 times its last 12-month revenues. Cash and short-term deposits are at $723 million, with negative net debt at $40 million - and with a substantial $1 billion expected in new advance payments to be received over the construction period for the Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 satellites.
The Group’s net debt to last 12-month EBITDA was at negative 0.1 times as of end September 2024, 'providing a strong balance to support future growth strategic priorities'.
"We have a clear strategic roadmap to drive profitable growth, leveraging our strengths and building new capabilities to prosecute accretive opportunities in areas such as direct-to-device (D2D), IoT, geospatial data capture and advanced analytics, enhancing our overall value proposition to governments and enterprises across the globe,” said Sabbagh.