Telesat of Canada, the world’s 4^th-largest staellite operator has issued their Q2 revenues which have disappointed the market.

For the 3-months ended June 30th, Telesat reported consolidated revenues of Can$226 million, or a decline of 3 per cent (Can$6 million) from the same period in 2016.  “The decline in revenue was primarily due to short-term services provided to another satellite operator in the second quarter of 2016, partially offset by favorable foreign exchange rate changes on the conversion of US dollar revenue, as the US dollar was approximately 5% stronger on average against the Canadian dollar than it was during Q2/2016.  Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rate changes, revenue decreased by 5 percent (Can$12 million) compared to the same period in 2016,” said Telesat.

For the 6-months ended June 30th 2017, revenue was Can$461 million, a decrease of 1 per cent (Can$6 million) compared to the same period in 2016. When adjusted for changes in foreign exchange rates, revenues declined 2 per cent (Can$9 million) compared to the same period in 2016. Operating expenses were Can$99 million, an increase of 11 per cent (Can$10 million) from the first half of 2016.

Telesat’s all-important backlog fell from Can$4.1 billion at the end of Q1/2017 to Can$3.9 billion at the end of Q2/2017.

However, on a more positive note CEO Dan Goldberg told analysts that it would continue with its plans for Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites because of their low latency (high speed) connectivity. Telesat will launch two LEO satellites later this year.  Telesat has plans for up to 117 LEO satellites.

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