Telesat Reports Results for the Quarter and Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2023

About this update from Telesat Corporation

[{"type":"text","content":"OTTAWA, March 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Telesat (NASDAQ and TSX: TSAT), one of the world’s largest and most innovative satellite operators, today announced its financial results for the three-month and one-year periods ended December 31, 2023. All amounts are in Canadian dollars and reported under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) unless otherwise noted. “Telesat achieved a great deal in 2023 and I am pleased with our financial performance and, more importantly in terms of our future, the breakthrough we had in moving Telesat Lightspeed, our advanced Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite program, forward,” commented Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO. “Our financial results reflect our continued disciplined execution, delivering Adjusted EBITDA1 above our 2023 guidance as well as industry-leading Adjusted EBITDA margins1, high capacity utilization, a substantial contractual backlog2 of $1.3 billion, and significant cash flow, ending the year with a cash balance of $1.7 billion.” Goldberg added: “Certainly the big development for Telesat last year was our announcement in August that we selected MDA Space to be the prime satellite contractor for Telesat Lightspeed, that the program is fully funded through global service delivery (subject to certain conditions) and that, by leveraging a number of key technology advances, Telesat Lightspeed will have improved network performance and efficiency and still achieve an expected capital cost savings of approximately US$2 billion relative to the approach we previously had been taking. I am also pleased that we have had extensive engagement with the Government of Canada regarding financing for Telesat Lightspeed and expect to share funding terms shortly. We estimate that, in addition to the roughly US$2 billion of capital cost savings, our total cost of borrowings is expected to be roughly US$750 million lower relative to our prior Telesat Lightspeed plan. The Government of Canada has been a strong supporter of the Lightspeed program and we are grateful for that support.” Goldberg concluded: “For 2024, and as reflected in our financial guidance for the year, we expect continued reduction in revenues from our North American direct-to-home (DTH) satellite video customers as well as reduced revenues from customers for enterprise services owing to significant competition in...

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