Pace Hits Set-Top Stride

Thanks in large part to customer deals with Comcast Corp. and DirecTV Group Inc., Pace plc notched a 31 percent increase in revenues for the first half of 2013.

The U.K.-based set-top box maker reported revenues a little over $1.3 billion for the first six months of this year, compared with just more than $1 billion in the same period of 2012. Its operating margin climbed to 7.3 percent from 6.1 percent a year ago and its net profit also improved, from $15.3 million a year ago to $50.7 million for the first half of 2013.

More than 80 percent of Pace's revenue now stems from sales of set-tops and media servers. According to the latest earnings report, the company has shipped more than 2 million Genie-branded whole-home DVRs for DirecTV, and now has both new media servers and mini-client devices in production for the satellite TV provider.

Although Pace did not directly disclose shipment numbers for Comcast in the report, the manufacturer is the supplier for the new X1 hybrid IP set-top that the big U.S. MSO is deploying in multiple markets. (See Comcast X1 Sets Sights on Nation's Capital and Comcast Spreads X1's Wings.)

Overall, Pace saw its set-top and media server revenues jump 51.8 percent.

Pace is unusual in that it serves major cable, satellite, and telecom companies with its television hardware. In addition to Comcast and DirecTV, AT&T Inc. is one of the company's top customers.

Other recent wins for Pace include deployments with Liberty Global Inc. and Get TV. Pace was also chosen to deliver a TiVo-enabled media server solution for General Communication Inc. (GCI).

— Mari Silbey, Special to Light Reading Cable