Buoyant Maritime unit boosts Inmarsat

First quarter earnings at satellite communications firm Inmarsat were up a touch after strong demand at its maritime unit.

For the three months ended 31 March 2012 total EBITDA rose 1% to $205m while total revenue increased 6% to $237m. Maritime revenue was up 7.2% at $95.4m.

Chief executive officer Rupert Pearce said: "While economic conditions in shipping remain challenging, we remain comfortable with the customer usage trends we are seeing and have a positive outlook for our maritime business in 2012."

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"Strong subscriber growth of over 10% in the first quarter continues to underpin our expectations for improved results in 2012."

Inmarsat said growth in its maritime was underpinned by the elimination of volume discounts previously available for older services as it encourages customers to switch to its FleetBroadband service.

CJ