Telesat Headquarters
Image credit: Telesat

[Via Satellite 11-01-13] Telesat, the Canadian satellite operator, has seen increased revenues in the three months to the end of September, but an overall profit decline. These were two of the highlights of its results, issued October 31. The company reported consolidated revenues for the third quarter of 2013 of CA $238 million ($227.54 million), an 8 percent increase compared to the same period in 2012. During a conference call Thursday, Dan Goldberg, president and CEO, Telesat, attributed the increase in revenue mainly to selling capacity on the Anik G1 satellite and a short-term provision for services to another satellite service provider.

Yet, despite an increase in revenue, Telesat’s net income for Q3 decreased from CA$114 million ($108.99 million) to CA$102 million ($97.51 million). The variation was attributed to a lower non-cash gain on foreign exchange, caused primarily by the U.S. dollar strengthening during the quarter relative to the Canadian dollar.

“I am very pleased with the strong growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA we achieved in the third quarter and first nine months of the year compared to the same periods last year,” said Goldberg in a press release made available shortly before the call.

Also discussed during the conference call was the progress made on the Telstar 12 Vantage satellite, which will replace Telstar 12 at 15 degrees west longitude. The satellite will offer more capacity and will be backwards compatible with existing Ku-band terminal equipment. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is contracted to launch the satellite on an H-2A rocket.Goldberg said the economic contribution of the damaged Nimiq 2 satellite will be about 2 percent for this year. “Like Nimiq 1, it had a contractual step-down. We suffered some anomalies at the beginning of that year. Once we had these anomalies, given the capacity we could support … we had other opportunities to use the satellite so we entered into an arrangement with Bell [TV],” he added.

As of Sept. 30 2013, use of Telesat’s North American capacity was 90 percent, and the international capacity was at 80 percent. Goldberg expects revenue growth for existing satellites (including Telesat 12 Vantage) to be limited. “Absent securing opportunities to launch new satellites, our growth will be fairly moderate. We are generating a meaningful amount of cash right now,” he said

“Demand for satellite services is growing and we’re well positioned with a number of blue chip companies around the world.” He described the company’s outlook as “fairly optimistic, but in a way that is disciplined.”