Telesat (NASDAQ:TSAT) Announces Earnings Results

Telesat (NASDAQ:TSAT) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported ($2.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.67) by ($1.54), Zacks reports. Telesat had a negative return on equity of 1.10% and a negative net margin of 37.25%.

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 Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of TSAT stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $48.25. 130,091 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 187,044. Telesat has a 12-month low of $14.77 and a 12-month high of $55.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $39.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $715.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.40 and a beta of 2.02.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Telesat

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TSAT. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Telesat by 32.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Telesat by 1,335.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 3,552 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Telesat by 63.3% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Telesat during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Telesat in the 3rd quarter valued at about $212,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Telesat in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Telesat from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Telesat from $19.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $37.00.

Telesat Company Profile

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.