SatCom division is Nera's profit generator.

(From Lloyds List)

SATELLITE terminal manufacturer and supplier Nera completed its range of maritime products for global network Inmarsat at the end of last year.

But the order book is not bulging and profit margins are still flat.

Nera Mobile Satellite Communications, or Nera SatCom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the group, took orders of Nkr130m ($19m) in the first quarter, down from Nkr170m a year earlier. But the sales figure was up marginally from the fourth quarter.

Nera SatCom was still the only business division in the first quarter this year to deliver an operating profit for the group, although the Nkr17.6m profit was down from Nkr27.5m made over the same period last year.

Group operating losses in the first three months of the year stood at Nkr23.2m, which is marginally less than the Nkr24.6m lost over the same period last year.

But, with net financial gains down over the first quarter, the group only mustered a pre-tax Nkr18.4m loss compared with its profit before tax of Nkr1.9m over the same period last year.