NEWS / PRESS RELEASES
Profitability of Inmarsat rocketed through 2008 with increased take-up of broadband services at sea a contributor.
The London stock exchange quoted company reports a pretax profit of $194m compared to $125m the previous year.
Inmarsat was established as a maritime satellite organisation thirty years ago. Although it has since diversified into the land mobile and aeronautical sectors shipping is still a big part of the business.
Inmarsat chairman and chief executive, Andrew Sukawaty, said that despite economic uncertainty there had been sustained growth across all market sectors.
Revenues from the maritime sector rose 7.2% with a favourable reaction to the fleet broadband service leading to an accelerating take up of the service.
A key boost came from AP Moller Maersk which decided on a two year plan to retrofit 150 tankers and offshore support vessels with the fleet broadband service.
Data services account for the largest slice of maritime satellite revenues at $228m, an increase of 9.7% over the year. Voice services contributed $105m and increased by 2% compared to 2007.
Inmarsat is optimistic of riding out any shipping downturn as satellite communication costs are only a small part of operational expenditures and offer operational benefits.
The broadband service offers an up to 432KB connection over a shared channel for e-mail, internet and intranet services with voice access available simultaneously.
The broadband service was evaluated on Bernhard Schulte’s 2,550-teu containership Marianne Schulte (built 2001) and is available globally except for extreme polar regions.
The Marianne Schulte master, Capt Abrahim Mohan, subsequently reported the broadband link helped crew morale through satellite calls to their families. He is also aiming to give the crew communal internet access for web browsing and e-mail.
But it is also being use for operational purposes such as sending data ahead of port calls, replenishing stores and exchanging information with the ship's management office in Shanghai.
