OTTAWA – Telesat Holdings Inc. reported a net income of $12.4 million for the second quarter, reversing a net loss of $101.4 million in the preceding quarter.
The newly-independent satellite company, which had been a subsidiary of BCE Inc. posted operating revenues $169.5 million for the three months ended June 30. That’s a four per cent increase from the $162.7 million in revenue reported in the previous quarter.
The company says quarter-over-quarter operating expenses were flat as additional savings from Telesat’s synergy program were offset by a combination of in-orbit insurance for Anik F3 and certain costs related to the higher revenues, the combination of which totalled more than $2 million. As a result, the EBITDA margin improved to 61% at the end of the second quarter, up from 60% at the end of the first quarter, and an improvement from the year end 2007 level of approximately 55%.
"I am very pleased with our second quarter and first half financial and operating performance," said Dan Goldberg, president and CEO. "We are executing well both with respect to our top line results and controlling our expenses, including delivering on our synergy plan."
Telesat says it expects to launch its Nimiq 4 satellite on a Proton launch vehicle late in the 3rd quarter of 2008, subject to the successful completion of the next Proton launch mission scheduled earlier in the quarter.
