10 Mar 2010 17:23
| Date: | 10 March 2010 |
| On behalf of: | Avanti Communications Group plc ("Avanti" or "the Company") |
Avanti Communications Group plc
Trading Update, Contract Wins and Launch Schedule
Avanti (AIM: AVN), the broadband satellite operator, is pleased to announce several contract wins and an update on trading and launch schedule.
Contract Wins and Trading Update
Avanti has signed a contract with a customer (name withheld for commercial confidentiality) for 320Mb of HYLAS 1 capacity serving Eastern Europe, representing approximately 10% of HYLAS capacity. With the volumes ramping up to 320Mb over the Initial Term of five years, the contract is potentially worth €21.9m in future revenues. The customer has also signed options over further bandwidth on HYLAS 1 and also on HYLAS 2, the Company's first contract on its second satellite. The client is one of the most experienced satellite broadband operators in the region. The customer's investment in bandwidth and also hardware (not included in the contract value) is significant and the contract is conditional upon completion of some asset financing by the customer. Avanti has also signed VNO contracts with three new customers based in the UK but serving various territories in Europe, taking its total VNO customer list to 58. Avanti has several other large contracts under negotiation which are expected to close in the coming weeks and, as a result, is now confident that it will comfortably exceed its target for pre-sales in launch year of 25%. Furthermore, Avanti has several contracts under negotiation for large pre-sales on HYLAS 2. Trading for the current period is in line with expectations.
Launch Schedule
Avanti has been advised by Astrium UK, the manufacturer of HYLAS 1, that, the satellite will now be delivered to the launch site in July 2010. Arianespace, the launch service provider has separately now confirmed that it will be ready to launch HYLAS 1 in August (a "launch campaign" lasting several weeks from delivery to the launch site is typical). Avanti had the contractual option of launch on either a shared Ariane 5 vehicle or a dedicated Soyuz vehicle and is delighted to announce that it will launch HYLAS 1 on a Soyuz vehicle. Soyuz is the world's safest launch vehicle with over 1,700 manned and unmanned launches. Thus, with some contingency included, Avanti is confident that the program will deliver HYLAS 1 into operation successfully by September 2010.
Commenting, David Williams, Avanti Chief Executive, said:
"With excitement growing around the launch of Europe's first dedicated Ka band broadband satellite I am please to demonstrate our success in filling up the satellite with some large contracts signed this month and others to be announced soon. We also now have draft contracts in documentation in relation to several additional major sales on HYLAS 2. We have found demand in the Middle East is particularly strong and even this early in the project we are achieving our price targets for HYLAS 2 capacity."
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For further information please contact:
Avanti Communications Group Plc Tel: +44 (0) 20 7749 1600
David Williams
Cenkos Securities Tel: +44 (0) 20 7397 8900
Julian Morse / Max Hartley
Jefferies International Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7029 8000
Rupert Mitchell / Oliver Griffiths
Redleaf Communications Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 20 7566 6700
Emma Kane / Paul Dulieu
Notes to Editors:
About Avanti
¡ Avanti sells satellite broadband services to telecoms companies which use them to supply residential, enterprise and institutional users.
¡ Avanti's first satellite, called HYLAS 1 will launch in Q3 2010 and will be the first superfast broadband satellite launched in Europe.
¡ Avanti's second satellite called HYLAS 2 is fully funded and will launch in Q2 2012. It will extend Avanti's coverage to Africa and the Middle East.
¡ The market for 2Mb satellite broadband products in the markets served by Avanti is estimated at more than 100 million households.