Inmarsat to provide in-flight internet access on 300 BA planes

Bloomberg

Inmarsat Plc, the UK satellite operator, rose the most in four months after finalizing a contract with British Airways (BA) owner IAG SA to provide in-flight internet access on over 300 planes.
The order strengthens Inmarsat’s joint push with Deutsche Telekom AG to provide web access on aircraft using satellites and the German phone company’s towers. The service lets passengers use personal devices for internet browsing, video streaming, gaming and other online services.
“We look forward to rolling out this ground-breaking service with Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling,” Leo Mondale, president of Inmarsat Aviation, said in a statement on Thursday.
Inmarsat shares jumped as much as 7.5 percent to 735.5 pence, and were up 6.5 percent at 729 pence as of 10:45 a.m. in London.
The satellite operator also reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat analysts’ estimates, helped by contracts from airlines and governments. It described business conditions as challenging, marked by increasing competition and excess capacity in some markets.
Investors, who had been concerned about a weak forecast from Inmarsat, were reassured by the company’s projections, Berenberg analyst Robert Berg said by phone. Inmarsat forecast sales of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in 2017, and $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion in 2018.
“It’s a sigh of relief from the market,” Berg said. “And it’s positive that IAG has finally put pen to paper. Now we need to see conversion of their pipeline into more contracts.”