Losses deepen at Avanti Communications

3rd Oct 2011 08:39

Satellite broadband operator Avanti Communications said pre-tax losses widened after it invested in its first satellite launch.Loss before tax grew to £12.7m in the year ended 30 June 2011 from a loss of £1.95m the year before. Revenue dropped to £5.46m from £5.8m before.Avanti, which launched its first satellite HYLAS 1 last November, said it is now in receipt of revenues generated by it. The group also announced a further three contracts for HYLAS 1 in Poland, Germany, and Spain, and said it remains on track to sell out capacity on the satellite within three years of launch. HYLAS 2, of which 75% of its capacity will address growth markets, remains on target for launch in the second quarter of 2012. "There is strong demand for HYLAS 2 capacity from commercial customers in Africa and government customers in the Middle East and we expect to convert this demand to further significant backlog before launch," the group said in a company statement."Our pipeline of new business gives us confidence in our ability to meet expectations," it added.---cj