Telesat headquarters. Photo: Telesat.

Telesat released its Second Quarter (Q2) financial results Thursday, reporting consolidated revenue of $208 million Canadian dollars ($155 million), a decrease of 10% compared to the same period in 2019. Net income in Q2 was CA$162 million, up 20% from Q2 2019. 

The Canadian satellite operator attributed the decrease in revenue to a reduction of service for one of its North American Direct-to-Home (DTH) customers and lower revenue due to the completion of the term for prepaid services in a customer agreement. In addition, Telesat received revenue in Q2 2019 from providing short-term services to another satellite operator, which did not recur in 2020.  

Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg acknowledged the Q2 results reflect factors the company anticipated, the contract non-renewal, and the end of a revenue amortization period, but also the unanticipated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“The overwhelming majority of our revenues appears to be unaffected by the pandemic and we continue to have robust operating margins and strong cash flow, which is underpinned by our substantial contractual backlog. In addition, we continue to make substantial progress on the development of our planned revolutionary LEO (Low-Earth Orbit) satellite constellation as well as our other strategic objectives, including leveraging our valuable spectrum rights,” Goldberg said.