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ABU DHABI / WAM
Space42, the UAE-based AI-powered SpaceTech company with global reach, on Thursday announced its consolidated financial results for the first half of 2026, delivering a record financial performance with revenue increasing 15 percent year-on-year to US$260 million. The company reported a net profit of $18 million, with a 7 percent margin, while normalised EBITDA increased 12 percent to $116 million, with a 45 percent margin.
Space42 maintained a strong balance sheet, closing the period with cash and short-term deposits of $1.151 billion and cash capital expenditure of $102 million. The company also reported a substantial backlog of $6.3 billion, providing significant capacity to execute its strategy and long-term visibility over future cash flows.
During the period, Space42’s share buyback programme of up to 2.5 percent of the company’s issued share capital was approved at the General Assembly meeting. The programme is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2026, subject to approval by the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Smart Solutions increased revenue by 14 percent during the first half of the year, driven by growing government demand.
The business continues to accelerate its transformation towards higher-value, programmatic dual-use engagements centred on its core capabilities in Earth observation and geospatial analytics. Space42 also demonstrated outstanding operational resilience and business continuity, ensuring uninterrupted execution despite a dynamic operating environment.
Karim Michel Sabbagh, Managing Director of Space42, said, “In H1 2026, Space42 delivered an exceptional performance, achieving year-on-year revenue growth of 15 percent, underpinned by the strength of its government business, rising demand for Earth observation and geospatial analytics, and disciplined strategic execution.”
He added that Space Services delivered a record performance, with revenue growing 15 percent, driven by the $700 million, 15-year capacity services contract, which commenced on 1st July 2025, following the launch of the Thuraya-4 satellite. He noted that the business remains on track to deliver its strongest-ever annual performance in 2026.
Under its Secure Connectivity strategic pillar, the company said the Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 satellite programme remains on schedule and within budget, supported by the $5.1 billion, 17-year government contract. The programme is expected to generate approximately $300 million in annual revenue from the fourth quarter of 2026 onwards.
Space42 also continued advancing its dual-use broadband capabilities across low-Earth and medium-Earth orbits under a new multi-orbit strategy to complement Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5, while continuing the ramp-up of Thuraya-4 operations, with new government and commercial applications continuing to launch throughout 2026.
Meanwhile, Mira Aerospace continued developing its High Altitude Platform Systems by significantly enhancing the ApusNeo18 platform and payloads and commencing manufacture of the first ApusNeo30 prototype. Space42 also continued scaling the GIQ platform, available on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, recently enhanced by automated Foresight constellation data ordering, new AI models and applications, while expanding the operational deployment of the GIX platform to serve sovereign requirements and deliver actionable insights.
The company, in partnership with Skylo Technologies, successfully tested Direct-to-Device SMS and SOS services on standard devices through Thuraya-4, with commercial rollout expected by the end of 2026.
It also significantly progressed the formation of Equatys, in partnership with Viasat, to provide Direct-to-Device connectivity on a global scale using a standards-based 5G Non-Terrestrial Network open architecture, supported by more than 100 MHz of globally harmonised spectrum.
In Earth observation, advanced analytics and mobility, the Foresight-3, Foresight-4 and Foresight-5 satellites are now fully operational, further reinforcing Smart Solutions’ programmatic dual-use capabilities.
In addition, the company progressed the formation of its joint venture with Autonomous A2Z, advancing its legal, governance and commercial structure towards deploying Level-4 autonomous driving solutions across the Middle East and Africa. It also signed an agreement with the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility) to develop a national geospatial navigation platform aimed at enhancing digital sovereignty and unifying maps and spatial services across Abu Dhabi.