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Al Yah Satellite Communications

Al Yah Satellite Communications Overview

A subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, Al Yah Satellite Communications Company – or Yahsat – is a satellite services provider.

Yahsat provides voice, data, video and internet services to both commercial and public customers through multi-mission satellite communications in more than 150 countries across the world.

Founded in 2008, Yahsat initially focused on multi-purpose communications satellites for regions such as Africa and West Asia. That year it commissioned EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia to construct its satellites, leading to the 2011 launch of Al Yah 1.

Yahsat then launched YahLive alongside SES, a direct-to-home television service for the Mena region, the following year.

In 2024 Yahsat’s shareholders agreed to a merger with Bayanat, an analytics provider majority-owned by Abu Dhabi’s G42 AI company. The merger resulted in the creation of Space42, the world’s most valuable publicly listed space company.

Space42 aims to revolutionise space technology through AI-driven satellite solutions. It also wants to drive growth in autonomous vehicles, space mining and “sustainable space solutions”.

It launched the UAE’s first synthetic aperture radar satellite in 2024 to enhance Earth observation.

Al Yah Satellite Communications News

Among the UAE companies that have listed since 2021, the top nine performers are majority owned by Dubai or Abu Dhabi

State-backed UAE companies lead the pack for share price gains

The stock market performance of UAE companies that have gone public in the past few years varies greatly – but government-backed businesses have delivered the biggest gains. There have been 21 notable initial public offerings of UAE companies since the start of 2021 – 13 on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and eight on the […]

People, Person, Adult

Yahsat H1 profit rises despite revenue dip

The UAE satellite provider, Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), said its net profit for the first half of 2024 rose 62 percent year on year despite falling revenue. Net earnings stood at AED269 million ($73 million) during the period, compared with AED166.4 million a year earlier. Revenue fell 3 percent year on year to AED734 […]

Yahsat satellite SpaceX launch

Yahsat taps Musk’s SpaceX for next satellite launches

The UAE’s satellite provider Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) has chosen Elon Musk’s company SpaceX to launch its next-generation geostationary satellites, Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5. The two communications satellites are due to be launched into orbit in 2027 and 2028 respectively. Under the deal – part of an AED3.9 billion ($1.1 […]

Traders at Dubai Financial Market - UAE businesses listing an IPO at DFM must have Securities and Commodities Authority approval

Fees and procedures make UAE IPOs more complex 

UAE companies seeking to go public must undertake complex and often costly procedures to complete an initial public offering, although fees remain reasonable by international standards because of competition among advisers, according to experts. This decade, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have part-privatised many government-owned companies, sparking an IPO flurry that runs counter to slowdowns in […]

Yahsat appoints Airbus to build $1.1bn new satellites

Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, known as Yahsat, has appointed a unit of US-headquartered Airbus Group to manufacture its two new geostationary telecommunications satellites. The company initially authorised Airbus Defence and Space to commence activities on the Al Yah 4 (AY4) and Al Yah 5 (AY5) satellite programme in the second quarter of 2023. Airbus will design […]

Bayanat says its AID data platform provided information to authorities during April's flooding in Dubai

Bayanat increases funding for climate disaster R&D

Geospatial services provider Bayanat has increased its investment into climate disaster research and development following a strong profit rise in the first quarter of 2024. Abu Dhabi-based Bayanat said gross profit for the first quarter reached AED32 million ($8.7 million), representing a gross margin of 28 percent. Revenues were 12 percent up year on year […]

Traffic on Fourth Street, Abu Dhabi. The Yahsat and Bayanat merger could help bring self-driving cars to the emirate

UAE merger creates world’s most valuable listed space company

The world’s most valuable publicly listed space company has been created after shareholders of analytics provider Bayanat and “satellite solutions” company Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) agreed to a merger. The deal will help to further Abu Dhabi’s ambitions to be at the centre of the drive towards autonomous vehicles. The newly created Space42 […]

The uncrewed Cygnus space freighter, from which were launched two satellites built by students from Abu Dhabi's Khalifa University

Shareholders to vote on merger to create UAE space giant

Shareholders of two Abu Dhabi technology companies will vote on Thursday on a proposed merger to create a $4 billion space organisation.  Bayanat AI and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, better known as Yahsat, will hold their general assembly meetings simultaneously. The proposed merger will create Space42, an AI-powered space technology champion for the Middle […]

Yahsat estimated its contracted future revenue at AED25bn, equivalent to 15 times full-year revenue

Yahsat 2023 profit rises to $116m on revenue growth

Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, known as Yahsat, said net income grew 9 percent to AED424 million ($116 million) in 2023, driven by revenue growth across all operating segments. Revenue grew 6 percent year on year to AED1.7 billion, with all four operating segments exceeding the top end of the previous guidance range of AED1.6-1.7 billion. […]