French aerospace company Thales Group has reported just over €3bn ($3.4bn) in revenue for the nine months to 30 September, citing robust European “institutional”, or government, demand for space systems. CFO Pascal Bouchiat also noted the October success of joint venture Thales Alenia Space in securing a €324m contract from the European Space Agency. The report comes as France is preparing to launch its first commercial satellite next year, and with it an ambitious plan to build up Europe’s own constellation of satellites that will be able to provide broadband services
French aerospace company Thales Group has reported just over €3bn ($3.4bn) in revenue for the nine months to 30 September, citing robust European “institutional”, or government, demand for space systems. CFO Pascal Bouchiat also noted the October success of joint venture Thales Alenia Space in securing a €324m contract from the European Space Agency. However, the telecom satellite market is "soft", Bouchiat said, adding that he is optimistic about the remaining months of 2018.