Viasat says it will not replace satellite that malfunctioned

Viasat said it expects to recover less than 10% of the planned throughput on ViaSat-3 F1, its satellite that malfunctioned during deployment in July, but it was confident it could meet the needs of its customers without replacing it.

The U.S. company said it had completed most of the capital cost of the ViaSat-3 constellation, and its capex would decline in its 2025 financial year to between $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion.

It also said it now expects to reach sustainable positive free cash flow during the first half of the 2025 calendar year rather than the second half, excluding the positive impact of satellite insurance proceeds.

Viasat, which bought its British rival Inmarsat in May, said it had insurance coverage of $420 million in place for ViaSat-3 F1 and it would finalize its claim before the end of the year.

Shares in the group have lost as much as two-thirds of their value since the malfunction in July. Reuters