Telesat “pleasing progress” in 2020
March 5, 2021
Canadian satellite operator Telesat has announced its financial results for the three-month and one-year periods ended December 31st 2020
For the year, Telesat reported consolidated revenue of C$820million (€541m), a decrease of 10 per cent (C$90million) compared to the same period in 2019. When adjusted for changes in foreign exchange rates, revenue decreased 10 per cent (C$87million) compared to 2019. The revenue decrease was due to lower short-term services provided to other satellite operators, a reduction of service for a broadcast customer, the completion of the non-cash amortisation of a significant financing component of an agreement, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly on customers serving the aeronautical and maritime markets.
For the quarter ending December 31st 2020, consolidated revenue was C$202 million ,a decrease of 8 per cent (C$18million) compared to the same period in 2019. Adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes, revenue declined 7 per cent (C$16 million).
“Our full year results reflect certain factors that we anticipated, namely the non-renewal in late 2019 of a contract with a North American DTH customer and the end of the revenue amortisation period of a contract with another customer, as well as certain factors that we did not anticipate, namely a paucity of opportunities to provide short-term satellite services to other satellite operators and the Covid-19 pandemic,” commented Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO. “These anticipated and unanticipated factors account for our reduced revenue and Adjusted EBITDA. Having said that, we continued to generate strong cash flows and maintained high operating margins and a substantial contractual backlog, which provides high visibility into our future performance.”
Goldberg added: “I am particularly pleased with the progress we made last year and in the past few weeks on laying the foundations for our future growth, including our recent announcement that we selected Thales Alenia Space to build our revolutionary Lightspeed global broadband LEO satellite constellation and the announcement that the Government of Quebec will be making a significant investment in that important programme. Lightspeed will give Telesat and our customers a decisive competitive advantage in serving the enterprise broadband connectivity market, helping to bridge the digital divide around the world and fuelling our growth for years to come. I am also pleased with the progress we are making in transforming Telesat into a publicly listed company and in extracting value from our desirable C-band spectrum rights, both of which will help us fund our compelling growth plans. In sum, last year was a productive one for Telesat and we remain focused on maintaining the strong momentum we have as we execute our growth plans going forward.”