SES shares slump after revenue miss despite stable outlook

By Gianluca Lo Nostro

July 30 (Reuters) - European satellite operator SES reported second-quarter revenue well below market expectations on Thursday, sending its shares down more than 17% despite maintaining its full-year outlook and saying new business wins should help stabilise revenue in 2026.

The Luxembourg-based company, which last year completed its $3.1 billion acquisition of Intelsat, reported second-quarter revenue of 755 million euros ($863.9 million), below analysts' average estimate of 794 million euros, according to a company-compiled consensus.

Adjusted EBITDA fell to 321 million euros, slightly below analysts' expectations of 325 million euros.

Shares were down 14.5% by 1055 GMT in Paris, among the biggest decliners in Europe's STOXX 600 <.STOXX>, after they fell more than 18% during the day.

Chief Executive Adel Al-Saleh said second-quarter performance was hurt by slippage of some contracts, but reiterated full-year guidance for stable revenue and adjusted EBITDA.

Analysts were sceptical. ING analyst Jan Frederik Slijkerman described the quarter as "materially weaker" than expected, saying mobile revenues appeared to have been affected by customer losses in the aviation segment. He added that management remained confident new business wins in SES's Networks division would help stabilise revenue in 2026.

Berenberg said meeting the company's full-year targets now appeared challenging.

SES plans to launch three new medium-Earth-orbit satellites during the third quarter as it seeks to strengthen its network offering.

Al-Saleh told analysts the fourth quarter would be stronger than the third quarter, supported by several defence contracts.

Investors had welcomed the prospect of up to $5.6 billion in incentive payments announced on Monday for helping clear satellite spectrum in the United States, a key element of the investment case following SES's acquisition of Intelsat.

Asked about reports that SpaceX could eventually phase out its Falcon 9 launcher, Al-Saleh said SES was monitoring developments closely and would welcome becoming a customer of SpaceX's next-generation Starship rocket.

"The industry needs to evolve quickly," he said. "In addition to SpaceX that has helped the entire industry over the last five years, we need others to increase their cadence."

($1 = 0.8739 euros)

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Matt Scuffham)