Insight | Reflecting on the 2014 Preliminary Results
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Like any chief executive, I know that annual results day is a critical opportunity to present the progress made over the previous year.
It’s only natural for us all to pause for breath and take a chance to look back and review what we’ve been doing and I’m very pleased to say 2014 is a year we can be proud of.
But the sense of pride I have in a job well done, by all our employees and partners, over the past year is overridden by the excitement I feel for the year to come. The technology and communications business we’re in means no room for complacency and it’s reassuring to know that we have built a strong platform for growth.
The project of transforming Inmarsat into an even more successful and pivotal player in mobile communications is on solid ground thanks to the performance of years like 2014 but it’s going to be years like 2015 that really bring that promise to life.
I’ve described 2014 as a year of solid delivery and making good on our promises is crucial to shareholders and for securing the long term future of the business.
With revenue growing in Maritime and Aviation and also a promising performance in Enterprise, after the effect of selling our energy-related business, we have the right platform for the future. And it’s a platform that’s strong so we can withstand the obvious challenges that government revenues are facing and still enjoy good progress.
All that translates in profits and cash flow and that means our financial strength can support our operational strengths. It also means we can deliver the vital investments in new technology and services that we believe makes us the most compelling choice for customers and the preferred home for partners.
But none of that would mean much if we didn’t have the answers today for the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.
And that’s what’s really exciting for our business as I reflect on another results day.
Last year saw us begin our Global Xpress programme with the commercial service introduction of I-5 F1 which caught the imagination of the industry with its potential for a transformative service.
This year is about delivering on that potential. I-5 F2 has already been successfully launched with F3 on track for launch in the second quarter and with global commercial service introduction expected early in the second half of this year.
Everybody at Inmarsat can be proud of this strategic $1.6bn investment. It’s going to be genuinely revolutionary to be able to offer the world’s first seamless, high speed, broadband connection from one operator across the globe regardless of where users are on land, sea or in the air.
It will bring to life the ‘Internet of Everywhere’ which, of course, is a wonderful commercial opportunity for Inmarsat and the culmination of many years’ hard work. But it’s also perfectly legitimate for us to ponder for a moment what that actually means more broadly. Cost-effective, global access to communications, such as GX, can fuel economic growth and social development. It is a truly transformative technology.
While something as exciting as GX can dominate the headlines, I’m also sitting here knowing that 2015 will bring yet more progress for the company elsewhere.
Our European aviation network programme is well on track and innovation in L-band will continue to deliver new and enhanced services across all our business sectors. While other eye-catching developments, such as our important work on the flight tracking of commercial aircraft, will serve to further enhance our company’s reputation for delivering mission critical technology that can be trusted.
So I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at Inmarsat, and our partners, for another year of progress which has positioned us well for the year ahead; I’m looking forward to it being one of the most exciting and important 12 months of our history.
Rupert Pearce was Inmarsat’s Chief Executive Officer from January 2012 until February 2021. Rupert joined Inmarsat in January 2005 as Group General Counsel and, from January 2009, additionally held the position of Senior Vice President, Inmarsat Enterprises. Previously, Rupert worked for Atlas Venture, where he was a partner working with the firm’s European and US investment teams. He was previously also a partner at the international law firm Linklaters, where he spent 13 years specialising in corporate finance, M&A and private equity transactions. Rupert received an MA (First Class) in Modern History from Oxford University and won the 1995 Fullbright Fellowship in US securities law, studying at the Georgetown Law Center. He has been a visiting fellow of the Imperial College Business School, London, lecturing on the school’s Entrepreneurship programme, and is the co-author of Raising Venture Capital (Wiley).
