Business
Telesat Reports Results for the Quarter and Six Months Ended June 30, 2024
OTTAWA, Ontario, Aug. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Telesat (NASDAQ and TSX: TSAT), one of the world’s largest and most innovative satellite operators, today
About this update from Telesat Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"OTTAWA, Ontario, Aug. 14, 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 and six-month periods ended June 30, 2024. All amounts are in Canadian dollars and reported under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) unless otherwise noted. “I am pleased with our financial and operating performance for the second quarter,” commented Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO. “We remain on track to meet our 2024 guidance and, as a result of our continued disciplined execution, delivered industry-leading Adjusted EBITDA margins1, high capacity utilization, a substantial contractual backlog2 of $1.1 billion, and a cash balance of $1.4 billion.” Goldberg added: “Our focus this year remains twofold. First, in our geostationary activities, maximize our Adjusted EBITDA1 and cash flow by seeking to mitigate anticipated revenue declines and rigorously managing our legacy cost structure. Second, move forward expeditiously on implementing and deploying Telesat Lightspeed as we complete the definitive documentation on the Government of Canada and Government of Quebec funding for the program. We believe Telesat Lightspeed, our state-of-the-art Low Earth Orbit (LEO) global broadband constellation, will revolutionize broadband connectivity for enterprise and government users and represents a highly compelling growth and value creation opportunity for Telesat and its stakeholders.” For the quarter ended June 30, 2024, Telesat reported consolidated revenue of $152 million, a decrease of 15% ($27 million) compared to the same period in 2023 and in line with our expectations. When adjusted for changes in foreign exchange rates, revenue declined 16% ($29 million) compared to 2023. The decrease was primarily due to a reduction of services and lower rate on the renewal of a long-term agreement with a North American direct-to-home television customer as well as lower revenue from certain mobility and Latin American customers. Operating expenses for the quarter were $56 million, an increase of $5 million from 2023. The impact from foreign exchange was minimal. The increase was primarily due to higher wages and benefits, bad debt expense, and costs associated with consulting contracts, partially offset by lower non-cash ...