OTTAWA — Telesat reported today its consolidated revenue for the third quarter of 2022 decreased 6% ($12 million) to $180 million compared to the same quarter of 2021.
The decrease “was primarily due to a reduction on renewal of a long-term agreement with a North American DTH customer and, to a lesser extent, revenue from short-term services provided to another satellite operator in 2021 that did not recur in 2022,” explains a press release announcing Telesat’s financial results for the quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2022. “This was partially offset by higher revenue from mobility customers and the NASA Communications Services Project (CSP) program.”
Telesat’s operating expenses for Q3 2022 were $56 million, down 7% ($4 million) from the same three-month period in 2021. “The decrease was primarily due to lower non-cash share-based compensation, partially offset by higher wages, and higher consulting costs associated with the NASA CSP program,” the release says.
The company’s adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $137 million, a decrease of 12% ($19 million) from Q3 2021. Telesat’s net loss was $229 million in Q3 2022, compared to a net loss of $52 million in the third quarter of 2021.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2022, Telesat reported consolidated revenue of $552 million, a decrease of 3% ($18 million) compared to the same period of 2021. Operating expenses were $179 million for the nine-month period, an increase of $14 million from 2021. Adjusted EBITDA was $429 million, a decrease of 6% ($27 million) compared to 2021. Telesat’s net loss for the first nine months of 2022 was $172 million, compared to net income of $42 million for the same period of 2021.
“We remain on track to outperform the financial guidance we gave at the outset of this year and are pleased with our performance year to date,” said Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s president and CEO, in the release.
“Our revenue and Adjusted EBITDA are, as anticipated, lower relative to the prior period as a result principally of the reduction in a North American direct-to-home television customer contract renewal earlier in the year. Telesat’s business continued to generate strong cash flow, ending the quarter with $1.7 billion in cash. We also delivered industry-leading Adjusted EBITDA margins, maintained high capacity utilization and have a substantial contractual backlog of $1.9 billion.
“In the quarter we progressed discussions with our suppliers and financing sources on Telesat Lightspeed, our revolutionary planned Low Earth Orbit satellite constellation. We continue to believe that we will have greater clarity on the financing of the program around year end and that Telesat Lightspeed represents a transformative growth opportunity for the company and a highly compelling value proposition for the communications enterprise user community,” Goldberg added.
For more on Telesat’s financial results, please click here.
