Telesat headquarters in Ottawa, Canada.
Photo Credit: Telesat

Telesat revenue dipped 10% in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the same time last year, according to the operator’s financial results released Friday. The Canadian satellite operator reported consolidated revenue of $188 million Canadian dollars ($150 million). 

A reduction of service for one of Telesat’s North American Direct-to-Home (DTH) customers, enterprise contract non-renewals, and lower consulting revenue drove the decrease. When adjusted for changes in foreign exchange rates, Telesat reported revenue declined 3% compared to 2020. 

Net income was $61 million Canadian dollars ($49 million), a 62% decline from the same time last year. Telesat reported the difference quarter was principally the result of lower non-cash foreign exchange gains in 2021, from translating Telesat’s U.S. dollar denominated debt into Canadian dollars.

Operating expenses for the quarter were $57 million Canadian dollars ($46 million), an increase of $11 million from 2020, because of an increase in non-cash share-based compensation, and hiring additional employees to support the Lightspeed consetllation program.

Telesat’s contract backlog stands at $2.4 billion Canadian dollars ($1.9 billion) as of June 30, and fleet utilization is at 80%. 

“I am pleased with our results for the second quarter and first six months of the year, particularly given the fact that the COVID pandemic continues to restrain certain business activities,” commented Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s president and CEO. “Although revenues and Adjusted EBITDA were down slightly, we continued to generate strong cash flows and maintained high operating margins, high fleet utilization, and a substantial contractual backlog, which provides good visibility into our future performance.”

Goldberg also said that the company received approval from the FCC last week to combine with Loral Space & Communications and go public. The company expects to become publicly listed in the late third quarter or early fourth quarter of this year.

The company is making progress on its Telesat Lightspeed constellation and recently received an agreement from the Canadian government for $1.44 billion Canadian dollars in investment if the operator meets certain requirements, and a $109 million Canadian dollar investment from the government of Ontario.