Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC (“Yahsat” and, together with its subsidiaries, “the Group”) has announced that their Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) subsidiary, Thuraya Telecommunications Company PJSC (“Thuraya”), has secured long term agreements with a global service provider for a total value in excess of AED 316 million ($850 million) over the next three years.
The agreements strengthen the Group’s growing dividend capacity and add to the Group’s contracted backlog of more than AED 7 billion, equivalent to more than five times the annual revenues of 2020. With stable and consistent cash flows, Yahsat is well on track to launch Thuraya 4-NGS, the next-generation satellite system (T4-NGS), in 2023 and commence commercial operations in 2024.
With leading companies such as Airbus, SpaceX and Cobham selected to support the construction of T4-NGS, and by securing a long-term contract with the UAE Government, Yahsat continues to grow across new and existing product lines to deliver higher capabilities and flexibility, while increasing capacity and coverage across Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.
The total annual retail MSS market where Thuraya operates is estimated to be more than AED 3.67 billion and is forecast to grow at around 4% annually. Yahsat is set to capture a growing share of this market as it rolls out its next-generation satellite in the coming years.
Ali Al Hashemi, Group Chief Executive Officer at Yahsat, said, “Today’s announcement is another milestone for Yahsat and Thuraya, as we push forward in growing and forging new long-term partnerships to drive even greater value for our shareholders, partners and customers. These partnerships enable us to deliver consistent financial and operational results whilst ensuring our ability to invest in growth with new industry-leading products and solutions, both in the mobile and fixed satellite solutions space, to cement Yahsat’s leading position as a trusted partner of choice in the satellite communications industry.”