Space Communications Company, operator of Amos satellites, signed today with Migdal and Insurers a financing agreement in the amount of 140 million dollars for the construction and launch of the Amos-5 satellite, which is expected to be launched during 2011 and operate for about 15 years.
Space Communications Company, operator of Amos satellites, signed today with Migdal and Insurers a financing agreement in the amount of 140 million dollars for the construction and launch of the Amos-5 satellite, which is expected to be launched during 2011 and operate for about 15 years. Amos-5 that will be launched to a new orbit point over Africa will enable the expansion of the deployment of the services of the Space-Communication Company throughout the African continent and parts of Europe and the Middle East.
The orders for Amos-5 services have already begun, and recently the company reported on an agreement signed in the amount of 28 million dollars for a European client operating in Africa.
The company anticipates that with the commercial operation of Amos-5, the company's sales volume will increase dramatically, since the demand for satellite communication and media services on the African continent is growing and the scope of communication services that Amos-5 can provide is comparable to the ability to provide services provided by both Amos-2 and Amos-3 satellites.
In the first half of 2009, Halal reported sales of $36 million and EBITDA of $27.8 million. The operating and net profit for the first half of the year amounted to 13.9 million dollars and 10.5 million dollars respectively. The backlog of orders for Amos-2 and Amos-3 satellites is about 457 million dollars.
These days, the Space Communications Company is completing the design of the next satellite in the company's satellite fleet, Amos-6, with an emphasis on its adaptation to the new global trend of transmitting two-way broadband Internet directly to homes via satellites. This satellite will provide a response to the growing demand for broadband internet in areas where the terrestrial infrastructure does not allow a sufficient response to the growing demand for broadband directly to households outside the centers of the big cities.
David Polak, CEO of Halal-Communications said today that "the financing agreement for Amos-5 allows the company to continue to advance in its business plans and meet the high demand for the company's services. We believe that the launch of Amos-5 and with it the expansion of providing satellite services to new continents, is an essential element in the company's growth plan and will continue to establish the company's position as one of the fastest growing satellite operators in the world."
The financing includes several entities from the Migdal Insurance group (100 million dollars) and the pension fund colleagues (40 million dollars). The financing entities were represented by attorney Jonathan Finkelstein, attorney Efrat Shapira Oren and attorney Erez Stemmler from Tadmor & Co.
About space-communication:
Spacecom is the operator of Amos communication satellites, specializing in providing satellite communication services such as: television, broadband internet, radio, and data communication in Israel and the Middle East, Europe and the USA.
Halal-Communications began its activity in the provision of satellite communication services in 1996 with the launch into space of the Amos-1 communication satellite. In 2003, the Amos-2 satellite was launched, and in April 2008, the Amos-3 satellite was launched, which replaced Amos-1 and operates very successfully in space. The Amos-4 satellite is currently being built at the Aerospace Industry to be launched during 2012, and in July 2008 an agreement was signed for the construction of Amos-5, which is scheduled for launch in mid-2011.
This extensive activity established the position of Halal-Communications as a leading satellite operator in the Israeli market, in the Middle East and in Europe, while among the customers of Halal-Communications in Israel are the YES satellite television company, the Israeli government, the Broadcasting Authority, the Second Authority (Channel 2 and Channel 10) and Gilat Stockcom. Among the world's largest clients of Chall-Communications are HBO, MTV, BOOM TV, which operates a DTH (Direct To Home) platform in Romania, and T-Kable, which operates a new DTH service in Hungary, as well as many other broadcasters, including governmental ones.
In the coming years, Space Communications plans to launch several more satellites to different sky points that will allow it to penetrate new markets such as Africa and Asia, and continue to establish its position as a leading DTH platform provider.
Hallel-Communications is a public company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (NYSE: Hallel) and its main shareholders are:
Eurocom Group - about 56%
VAT - about 17%
The General Company for Satellite Services - about 9%
H.Mr - about 7%
Public and institutional - about 11% (of which including holdings about 7%)
