Space42 reported revenue of $260 million (AED 954.9 million) for the first six months of 2026, up 15% from a year earlier. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed company said growth was supported by its Space Services business and improving activity within Smart Solutions, its geospatial and artificial intelligence-focused division.
Space Services revenue increased 15% during the period. Space42 linked the increase partly to a $700 million (AED 2.57 billion), 15-year capacity services contract that began on July 1, 2025, following the launch of its Thuraya-4 mobile communications satellite. Smart Solutions, meanwhile, recorded 14% revenue growth across the first half after its second-quarter revenue more than doubled from the corresponding period.
Profitability presented a more mixed picture. Space42 recorded EBITDA and normalized EBITDA of $116 million (AED 426 million), representing a 45% margin, while reported net profit stood at $18 million (AED 66.1 million). That compares with reported net profit of $51 million (AED 187.3 million) in the first half of 2025.
Space42 Moves Satellite Projects Forward
Activity during the half extended beyond the income statement. Space42 continued work on Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5, two next-generation satellites being developed to support secure government communications. The program is backed by a $5.1 billion (AED 18.73 billion), 17-year government contract, and the company said its Critical Design Review was substantially complete as of the end of the reporting period. Space42 expects the contract to contribute about $300 million (AED 1.10 billion) in annual revenue from the fourth quarter of 2026.
Thuraya-4 has also become a larger part of Space42’s connectivity strategy. In July, Space42 and Skylo Technologies said they had completed testing of direct-to-device SMS and SOS services using standard Android devices and the Thuraya-4 satellite. The test demonstrated two-way connectivity between a standard smartphone and a satellite messaging device without requiring additional satellite hardware on the handset. Space42 said commercial rollout is expected by the end of 2026.
The company is also developing Equatys with satellite communications group Viasat as a planned global direct-to-device infrastructure business. The proposed system is designed around a standards-based 5G non-terrestrial network architecture and more than 100 megahertz of harmonized spectrum. Space42 and Viasat provided an update on the project in March, describing plans to develop shared infrastructure through which mobile network operators could provide satellite-supported connectivity without building separate satellite networks.
Space42 Builds Out Earth Observation and Mobility
Space42’s Smart Solutions operation is increasingly centered on Earth observation, geospatial analytics and AI-supported data processing. In June, the company announced that Foresight-3, Foresight-4 and Foresight-5 had entered full operation. The three synthetic aperture radar satellites joined Foresight-1 and Foresight-2, giving the constellation five operational satellites capable of acquiring radar imagery regardless of cloud cover or daylight conditions.
The company has also continued developing its GIQ geospatial intelligence platform, which is available through the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, while expanding its work in autonomous mobility. During the first half, Space42 progressed a planned joint venture with South Korea’s Autonomous A2Z for Level 4 autonomous driving technology and signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre to develop a national geospatial navigation platform.
The planned platform is intended to bring mapping and spatial services together within Abu Dhabi and provide underlying geospatial infrastructure for transportation and other government applications.
Space42 ended June with $1.151 billion (AED 4.23 billion) in cash and short-term deposits, compared with $816 million (AED 3.00 billion) at the end of the first half of 2025. Contracted future revenue, which provides a measure of work already secured for future periods, stood at $6.3 billion (AED 23.14 billion).
