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02 Jun 16. Satellite industry revenue tops $208bn in 2015: trade group. Global revenue from the satellite industry reached $208bn in 2015, a 3 percent increase over 2014, a trade association report released on Thursday showed. U.S. companies accounted for 43 percent of the revenue, the Satellite Industry Association said in its annual report. Globally, 2015 revenues for the satellite industry totaled just over $208bn, up from about $203bn in 2014. Industry growth was led by the satellite services segment, with satellite broadband and Earth observation revenues each up by more than 10 percent, the report showed. Overall, satellite services revenues increased 4 percent to $127.4bn. Satellite manufacturing revenues, which include the value of satellites launched in 2015, also grew by 4 percent to $16.6bn. U.S. manufacturers won 11 of 17 orders worldwide for commercial communications satellites. Launch industry revenues declined 9 percent in 2015 due to fewer commercially procured flights, the report stated. Among the most dramatic changes in the industry is the increase in the number of satellites orbiting Earth. By the end of 2015, there were 1,381 operational satellites circling the planet compared to 1,261 in 2014 and 986 in 2011 – a 40 percent increase in four years. Most of the growth is due to the popularity of shoebox-sized CubeSats, which can be outfitted with different sensors for a wide variety of research and commercial missions. The Satellite Industry Association’s report was prepared by the Tauri Group, a Washington-based space and defense consultancy.
02 Jun 16. Finmeccanica continues on road to Leonardo rebrand. Italian defence technology group Finmeccanica has continued the transition to its new Leonardo brand with the announcement that it has relaunched its Finmeccanica Global Services company as Leonardo Global Solutions.
The decision – approved at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders on 31 May and announced on 2 June – came after the group formally adopted its new name at the close of April this year. The FGS unit is an internal services provider with a role that involves providing integrated services to the wider group ranging from real estate management to the acquisition of services from suppliers.
ANALYSIS
The transition from Finmeccanica to Leonardo is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
27 May 16. QinetiQ outlines growth strategy after a challenging year.
While a 2 per cent dip in underlying operating profit to £109m is unlikely to get pulses racing, boss Steve Wadey’s description of “solid” performance seems fair considering the barrage of headwinds that faced QinetiQ (QQ.) in the reported period. Fortunately, governments worldwide have recently unveiled rising budgets to counter a growing number of terrorist threats, although this time they want their money’s worth. Mr Wadey is confident that QinetiQ’s core capabilities match the requirements of today’s austerity-driven governments, but also admits that “staying the same won’t be good enough”. In light of these challenges, he outlined three strategic pillars centred on expanding internationally and becoming more innovative in matching customer requirements. So far this pledge has involved opening up a small office in Canada, partnering with BAE Systems (BA.) on a project in Chile, investing in next-generation robotics, developing cable fibre-optic sensor solutions for the rail industry and modernising the group’s test and evaluation facilities. Strong cash generation means there’s plenty of headroom on the balance sheet to invest for the future. But management’s admission that margins will soon come under pressure from a crackdown on single source co