Eutelsat Shares Surge on Dual Strategic Contract Wins

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Eutelsat's stock price experienced a sharp rally, climbing nearly 10 percent to reach €2.10. This significant upward movement was fueled by the announcement of two major strategic agreements within a matter of days, signaling strong momentum for Europe's developing satellite internet constellation.

The company's aggressive growth strategy is being financed through a €1.5 billion capital increase finalized last autumn. France led the funding round, with participation from the United Kingdom, Bharti Space, and CMA CGM. Eutelsat plans to invest approximately €4 billion into its network expansion by 2029, with a stated goal of reducing its leverage ratio to 2.5 times EBITDA.

CEO Jean-François Fallacher highlighted the segment's robust growth, pointing to an 80 percent revenue increase forecast for the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) business in 2025.

Major Satellite Order Placed with Airbus

The first of the two key announcements came on Sunday. Eutelsat confirmed that Airbus Defence and Space will manufacture an additional 340 satellites for its OneWeb constellation. This follows an order for 100 units placed in December, bringing the total new order to 440 satellites. The contract is valued at up to €2.2 billion.

These next-generation satellites are designed with enhanced capabilities:
* Improved onboard processing through advanced digital channelizers.
* A re-optimized architecture for maximum operational efficiency.
* Hosted payload capacity, creating a potential new revenue stream by leasing space to third parties.

Production will commence on a new assembly line at the Airbus facility in Toulouse. Initial deliveries are scheduled for late 2026, with full operational deployment following thereafter. This order will grow the OneWeb fleet to over 1,000 satellites, a crucial step in competing with SpaceX's Starlink network, which already operates close to 10,000 active units.

Multi-Launch Agreement Secures Launch Capacity

The second announcement, made today, involves a multi-launch contract with French rocket manufacturer MaiaSpace. The agreement is expected to account for the majority of MaiaSpace's launch manifest during its first three years of operation. The Maia rocket is designed to carry payloads of up to 4,000 kilograms into low Earth orbit.

MaiaSpace CEO Yohann Leroy emphasized the dual strategic rationale behind the project: serving the commercial market while ensuring sovereign European access to space. A first demonstration flight is planned for 2026 from the Kourou spaceport, with commercial operations targeted for 2027. The company aims to achieve up to 20 launches annually by 2030.

Financial Results and Market Outlook

Eutelsat is scheduled to release its half-year financial figures on February 13th. Market analysts anticipate revenues of around €597 million for the period. The average analyst price target for the stock stands at €2.69, representing a potential upside of nearly 30 percent from the current trading level.

Following today's rally, the company's market capitalization is approximately €2.5 billion. Trading volume was notably high, exceeding 4 million shares, well above the average volume of 2.1 million.