Telesat Q3 down 6%; no Lightspeed update
November 9, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Ottawa-based satellite operator Telesat reported its quarterly and 9-months trading for the period to September 30th. CEO Dan Goldberg told analysts: “In the quarter we progressed discussions with our suppliers and financing sources on Telesat Lightspeed, our revolutionary planned Low Earth Orbit satellite constellation. We continue to believe that we will have greater clarity on the financing of the programme around year end and that Telesat Lightspeed represents a transformative growth opportunity for the company and a highly compelling value proposition for the communications enterprise user community.”
Telesat reported that it had relocated a C-band satellite recently acquired and is shifting it to its slot at 111 degrees West because of problems with its Anik F2 craft. Anik F2 has lost two out of its 4 on-board positioning thrusters.
For the quarter ended September 30th 2022, Telesat reported consolidated revenue of C$180 million (€133.1bn), a decrease of 6 per cent compared to the same period in 2021. When adjusted for changes in foreign exchange rates, revenue declined 8 per cent compared to 2021.
“The revenue decrease was primarily due to a reduction on renewal of a long-term agreement with a North American DTH customer [Dish Network] and, to a lesser extent, revenue from short-term services provided to another satellite operator in 2021 that did not recur in 2022,” said the operator.
Telesat’s net loss for Q3 was C$229 million, compared to a net loss of C$52 million for the third quarter of 2021. The negative variation of C$176 million was principally due to a higher non-cash foreign exchange loss arising from the translation of Telesat’s US dollar denominated debt into Canadian dollars compared to the same period in the prior year. This loss was primarily a result of the US dollar strengthening to a greater degree in the three-months ended September 30, 2022 compared to the same period in the prior year.
For the 9-month period Telesat reported consolidated revenue of C$552 million, a decrease of 3 per cent (C$18 million) compared to the same period in 2021. When adjusted for changes in foreign exchange rates, revenue declined 5 per cent (C$26 million) compared to 2021. For the 9-months, Telesat’s net loss was C$172 million, compared to net income of C$42 million for the same period in 2021.
Telesat’s guidance for its full year 2022 revenues (assuming a foreign exchange rate of US$1 = C$1.30) to be between C$740 million and C$750 million.
Telesat had contracted backlog for future services of approximately C$1.9 billion (excluding contractual backlog associated with Telesat Lightspeed). Fleet utilisation was 87 per cent.