Telesat Q3 down 15%
October 30, 2020
By Chris Forrester
Ottawa-based Telesat announced its Q3 and 9-months revenues for the period to September 30th, and the news is not good. Revenue for Q3 fell 15 per cent to C$202 million (€129.8m). The 9-month numbers were slightly better overall with revenues of C$619 million, a fall of 10 per cent on the same period in 2019.
Telesat’s backlog is about C$2.8 billion, and fleet utilisation is 81 per cent.
Telesat explains the falls, saying: “The revenue decrease was due to short-term services provided to another satellite operator in the third quarter of 2019 that did not recur in 2020, a reduction of service for one of Telesat’s North American DTH customers and lower revenue due to the completion of the term for prepaid services. In addition the restructuring of certain customer contracts related to the Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted revenue.”
For the overall 9-month trading period, Telesat says: “For the nine-month period ended September 30th 2020, we reported consolidated revenue of C$619 million, a decrease of 10 percent (C$72 million) compared to the same period in 2019. Revenue decreases were due to a reduction of service for one of Telesat’s North American DTH customers and lower revenue due to the completion of the term for prepaid services in a customer agreement that was accounted for as having a significant financing component. In addition, revenue associated with short-term services provided to other satellite operators in 2019 did not recur in 2020.”
For the nine months to September 30th 2020, Telesat’s net loss was $9 million, compared to net income of $185 million for 2019. The negative variation for the period was principally the result of non-cash foreign exchange losses in 2020, arising from the translation of Telesat’s US dollar denominated debt into Canadian dollars compared to foreign exchange gains in 2019.
Commenting on the results, Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO, said: “The overwhelming majority of our revenues has been unaffected by the pandemic and we continue to have robust operating margins and cash flow, which are underpinned by our significant contractual backlog. In addition, we are making substantial progress on the development of our revolutionary LEO satellite constellation as well as our other strategic objectives, including leveraging our valuable spectrum rights.”