14 theSun | MONDAY JUNE 22 2009

business

Measat targets RM355m

revenue next four years
MOSCOW: Measat Satellite
Systems Sdn Bhd is targeting to
reap a higher revenue of US$100
million (RM355 million) annually
in the next three to four years, up
from US$60 million last year with
the launch of MEASAT-3 and
MEASAT-3a satellites.
Its chief operating officer Paul J
Brown-Kenyon said the company
also has revenue of US$600 mil-
lion which would be raked in
from contracts ranging from three,
five and 15 years.
He also said that the company
which has spent RM1.6 billion
in the last four to five years, was
looking to launch joint venture
satellites with partners who could
bring in capital and in the process
“spread our risks.”
MEASAT-3 launched in 2006
and MEASAT-3a which was
launched today at 5.30am Ma-
laysian time from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome “will expand the
business,” he told journalists here
on Saturday.
This means that MEASAT’s sis-
ter company Astro would be able
to provide more channels to its
customers while expanded serv-
ices would be available for clients
such as Telekom Malaysia, Maxis
and Celcom.
“They will have the ability to
provide more communication
services to more customers,” he
said.
Brown-Kenyon said the
US$165 million MEASAT-3a
would be operational possibly by
end-July or even earlier and then
would start serving customers.
“Two satellites give us an
enormous amount of peace of
mind as we would be able to ex-
pand our capacity and deal with
redundancy issues associated
with old satellites,” he said.
He said MEASAT-3 was
close to full capacity in terms
of take while Astro had already
booked half of the transponders
on MEASAT-3a which means
new services, new channels and
increased content.
Asked when Measat could
recoup its earnings for the new
satellite, he said that investments
and costs in the satellite business
would dilute earnings in the next
12 to 18 months.
“But after that, revenue goes
up.”
In terms of payback, he said
that it would take about six to
seven years to pay for the US$165
million MEASAT-3a. Satellites
have a 15-year life mission.
“In our industry, we can’t be a
small player because of the huge
capital investments. We need to
be a big player but the good thing
is that MEASAT-3 and MEASAT-
3a have a very strong customer
base.”
“Beyond MEASAT, we are
looking always to grow the busi-
ness.
“We are looking at Africa as
a region and we are at the mo-
ment discussing with a number
of partners about doing joint
venture satellites in that part of
the region.”
He said Measat was mulling
joint venture satellites as the
strong customer base, which
means the capacity in the two
MEASAT satellites would be used
up quickly.
“We have access to 17 orbital
slots throughout the world and
each allowing a satellite to be
launched into a new region,” said
Brown-Kenyon.
“We are in a growth phase
and we have very successfully
built up a strong Malaysian base
and growing regionally in India,
Indonesia, with good broadcast
customers such as British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC),
National Geographic and History
Channel.” — Bernama

KL market summary
JUNE 19, 2009

INDICES CHANGE
FBMEMAS 7098.53 36.37
COMPOSITE 1059.50 5.09
INDUSTRIAL 2354.05 25.82
CONSUMER PROD 318.32 -0.36
INDUSTRIAL PROD 84.75 0.77
CONSTRUCTION 200.36 -0.78
TRADING SERVICES 140.29 0.93
FINANCE 8493.70 82.25
PROPERTIES 707.46 -17.14
PLANTATION 5328.63 4.40
MINING 275.60 0.00
FBMSHA 7325.65 24.10
FBM2BRD 4814.15 6.99
TECHNOLOGY 14.22 -0.23
Honda
TURNOVER VALUE
sticks to
1.353bil RM1.522bil
its guns
pg 16
Prices expected to trade
sideways this week
SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia are likely
to trade sideways this week as investors
remain uncertain over the state of the
economy, dealers said.
MIMB Investment Bank’s senior analyst
Rosnani Rasul said the market is in for a
bumpy ride this week on traders’ pessimis-
tic view that recovery is likely to be slow.
“The market reacts to whatever news
there are, and there will be good news and
bad news along the way,” she said.
However, Rosnani said it would be good
if the market could correct itself further,
down to the 1,000-point level.
“The economic indicators now are still
not good. So the market should go for
further correction before it can gain the
momentum to rally,” she said.
Rosnani expects the immediate support
to be at 1,040 and lower support at 1,000
with the immediate resistance at 1,075 and
lower resistance at 1,100 this week.
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the KLCI
closed the week 29.46 points lower at
1,059.5 compared to the previous week’s
closing of 1,090.15. — Bernama