Telesat (NASDAQ:TSAT) Posts Earnings Results

Telesat (NASDAQ:TSAT) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($2.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by ($1.54), Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $62.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.03 million. Telesat had a negative net margin of 47.57% and a negative return on equity of 3.82%.

Here are the key takeaways from Telesat’s conference call:

• Telesat reports continued progress on the LightSpeed program — satellite development, user terminals, and ground-station deployment are moving ahead and the company expects to begin full global commercial service around the end of Q1 2028.
• Telesat is negotiating contractual arrangements with the Government of Canada for the ESCAPE program (military Ka‑band in the Arctic); management says the deal could be material and will update financial projections if and when arrangements are finalized, but there is no assurance yet.
• The GEO segment saw a year‑over‑year revenue decline (Q1 GEO revenue of CAD 86 million, down ~26%) and adjusted EBITDA fell to CAD 55 million (down ~37%), contributing to a consolidated net loss of CAD 151 million driven largely by non‑cash goodwill impairments and lower GEO EBITDA.
• Telesat invested CAD 170 million in LightSpeed in Q1 and expects full‑year LightSpeed investment of CAD 1.0–1.2 billion; management says ~CAD 300 million in LEO cash plus CAD 1.72 billion available financing and $325 million in vendor financing should be sufficient to fund the project to commercial service, with a LightSpeed backlog of about CAD 1.1 billion (pre‑Northwestel).

Telesat Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TSAT traded up $2.86 during trading on Thursday, reaching $51.98. 178,249 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 189,783. Telesat has a 12 month low of $15.36 and a 12 month high of $55.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.60 and a 200-day moving average of $33.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $771.58 million, a P/E ratio of -5.76 and a beta of 2.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on TSAT. Zacks Research raised Telesat from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Telesat from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Telesat from $19.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Telesat in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Telesat presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telesat

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TSAT. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Telesat by 32.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Telesat by 1,335.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 3,552 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Telesat by 63.3% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Telesat during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Telesat during the third quarter worth about $212,000.

About Telesat

Telesat is a leading global satellite operator that designs, builds and delivers high-performance satellite communications solutions across multiple markets. The company operates a fleet of geostationary satellites to provide video distribution, data networking and managed broadband services to media companies, network operators, governments and enterprise customers. Telesat’s infrastructure supports television distribution, cellular backhaul, rural broadband and corporate network applications.

In addition to its geostationary offerings, Telesat is developing a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation known as Lightspeed.