Telesat headquarters. Photo: Telesat.

Telesat released its financial results for 2018, in which it saw similar results to other satellite operators. For for the full year 2018, the company saw exceptional free cash flow. The company also reported that the three-month period ending Dec. 31, 2018 saw an 8 percent decrease in consolidated revenues, compared to the same period in 2017.

Operating expenses of $71 million for the quarter were 52 percent ($24 million) higher than the same period in 2017, primarily because of non-cash compensation expenses of $26 million recognized for the 2018 year associated with restricted share units and stock options granted during the fourth quarter. Adjusted Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter was $190 million; a decrease of 8 percent ($17 million) compared to the same period in 2017. The Adjusted EBITDA margin for the fourth quarter of 2018 was 82.2 percent, compared to 82 percent in the same period in 2017.

“As a result of our continued operating discipline, we maintained our favorable EBITDA margin, achieved strong free cash flow generation, and meaningfully increased our cash balances year over year. We also launched and brought into service two new geostationary satellites — Telstar 18 Vantage and Telstar 19 Vantage — and launched our first Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite, an important step in moving forward with our planned revolutionary global LEO broadband satellite constellation. Looking ahead we remain heavily focused on increasing the utilization of our in-orbit satellites and executing on our key growth initiatives, particularly our LEO program.”