{"id":958086,"date":"2026-05-05T07:33:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/telesat-reports-results-for-the-quarter-ended-march-31-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T07:33:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:33:25","slug":"telesat-reports-results-for-the-quarter-ended-march-31-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/telesat-reports-results-for-the-quarter-ended-march-31-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Telesat reports results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

OTTAWA, Ontario, May 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Telesat<\/u><\/a> (Nasdaq and TSX: TSAT), one of the world\u2019s largest and most innovative satellite operators, today announced its financial results for the three month period ended March 31, 2026. All amounts are in Canadian dollars and reported under IFRS\u00ae Accounting Standards unless otherwise noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pleased with Telesat\u2019s performance in the first quarter of 2026, as the company made significant strides on a number of fronts,\u201d commented Dan Goldberg, Telesat\u2019s President and CEO. \u201cOur GEO results are tracking to our expectations, and we continue to make strong progress on the development of the Telesat Lightspeed constellation. During the quarter, we held further design reviews with our satellite and launch vehicle dispenser manufacturers and progressed our work on user terminals, network and satellite operations software development, and ground station deployments. As of the end of the quarter, we\u2019ve invested a total of approximately $2.7 billion in the Telesat Lightspeed program, including both expensed and capitalized costs. We continue to expect Telesat Lightspeed to commence global commercial service around the end of Q1 2028.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the commercial front, we executed a contract with Northwestel for Telesat Lightspeed service to support broadband connectivity in communities across Nunavut. That contract demonstrates the commercial appeal of Telesat Lightspeed for rural broadband, and interest remains robust at this time from government and defence users globally as well. Since announcing our plans to incorporate Military Ka-band (Mil\u2011Ka) spectrum into the Telesat Lightspeed constellation, we\u2019ve seen increased engagement from allied government customers, reinforcing our view that Telesat Lightspeed is well positioned to address fast-growing government demand for secure, resilient, and advanced satellite capabilities to meet mission\u2011critical communications requirements around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our GEO business, we continued to manage ongoing revenue pressures with a disciplined approach to cost control, allowing us to partially mitigate the impact of topline pressure on margins and generate resilient cash flow from our existing satellite fleet. Today, we are reiterating our revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance for the year for our GEO segment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally, we remain focused and are working closely with our advisors on refinancing the Telesat GEO debt before it starts to mature later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the quarter ended March 31, 2026, Telesat reported consolidated revenue of $87 million, a decrease of 25% ($30 million) compared to the prior year (24% excluding the impact of foreign exchange), and adjusted EBITDA1<\/sup> of $35 million, a decrease of 48% ($32 million) from the first quarter of 2025 (47% excluding the impact of foreign exchange). Excluding the impact of higher expenses related to our debt refinancing process, adjusted EBITDA decreased 42%. Telesat net loss for the quarter was $151 million compared to a $51 million loss in the prior year. The increased net loss was primarily due to lower revenue and a non-cash goodwill impairment loss in our GEO segment.<\/p>\n

In our GEO segment, revenue for the quarter was $86 million, a 26% decline ($30 million) from the same period in 2025 (24% excluding the impact of foreign exchange). The revenue decline was driven primarily by non-renewals of certain broadcast contracts in 2025 and, to a lesser extent, reductions in services for fixed broadband customers, partially offset by new contracts in our aviation segment. GEO segment adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $53 million, a 37% ($34 million) decline from the comparable period in 2025 (35% excluding the impact of foreign exchange), reflecting lower revenue, partially offset by lower operating expenses. Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 included $7 million in expenses relating to our debt refinancing process. Excluding these costs, GEO segment adjusted EBITDA margin1<\/sup> was 72% during the quarter, compared to 77% in the same period of 2025.<\/p>\n

In our LEO segment, we invested $171 million in the Telesat Lightspeed program in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting $19 million in operating expense and $152 million in capital expenditure.<\/p>\n

As of March 31, 2026, backlog2<\/sup> for our GEO segment totaled approximately $800 million and LEO backlog2<\/sup> totaled approximately $1.1 billion. GEO satellite utilization was 55% at March 31, 2026.<\/p>\n

\n Business Highlights<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n