The UAE is currently a “very exciting place to be” with “loads of opportunities,” Andrew Cole, CFO of satellite firm Yahsat told Arabian Business.
“It’s quite an exciting place to be. The UAE has put space exploration as one of its top priorities. They want to be at the forefront, they have established their own space agency … There’s huge opportunities for the company and an opportunity to support the UAE government as well,” he said.
Cole was speaking following the release of their 2022 growth figures which showed strong revenue growth. In 2022, Yahsat reported a 6 percent increase in revenue and a 7 percent increase in adjusted EBITDA.
Primarily, the group’s growth was driven by its managed solutions segment, which reported a 41 percent jump to AED333 million.
Discussing the firm’s long-term plans, Cole said the company was aiming “at being the preferred satellite provider for the UAE and beyond.”
“We have a commitment to our shareholders to deliver aggressive dividends that grow at least 2 percent each year, and I say at least … That dividend at the moment is going to give any average investor a yield of over 6 percent. You can see [the company’s] backlog, you can see the cash. It’s a very secure investment but with the potential for capital appreciation,” he added.
In a statement, Ali Al Hashemi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Yahsat, said: “Looking ahead, we remain confident in the Group’s underlying health and resilience, which is supported by a robust balance sheet and a substantial contracted future revenue of approximately AED7.3 billion [$2 billion]. This financial strength will help drive our future ambitions as we pursue a range of promising growth opportunities across IoT, government, maritime and enterprise data solutions, playing to our many strengths and driving sustainable long-term growth.”
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