Telesat Holdings Inc. (“Telesat”) today announced its financial results for the three month and one year periods ended December 31, 2014. All amounts are in Canadian dollars and are reported under International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) unless otherwise noted.

For the year ended December 31, 2014, Telesat reported consolidated revenues of $923 million, an increase of approximately 3% ($26 million) compared to 2013. Revenue was favorably impacted by the conversion of Telesat’s U.S. dollar denominated revenue into Canadian dollars as a result of a stronger U.S. dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate in 2014. When adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes, revenue was unchanged compared to 2013 as increased revenue earned on the Anik G1 satellite was offset by a decrease in revenue earned on the Nimiq 2 satellite and lower equipment sales revenue.

Operating expenses of $188 million were 6% ($13 million) lower than in 2013 or 9% ($18 million) lower when taking into account changes in foreign exchange rates. This reduction was primarily due to a decrease in share-based compensation expense related to stock options granted during the second quarter of 2013, a decrease in the provision for variable compensation expense and lower cost of equipment sales in 2014.

Adjusted EBITDA1 was $746 million, an increase of 5% ($35 million) over 2013. When adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes, Adjusted EBITDA was 2% ($14 million) higher than in 2013. The Adjusted EBITDA margin1 for 2014 was 81% compared to 79% for 2013.

Telesat’s net income for 2014 was $13 million compared to net income of $68 million for 2013. The variation was primarily due to a larger non-cash loss on foreign exchange and reduced gains on financial instruments in 2014. The foreign exchange loss was principally driven by a stronger U.S. dollar to Canadian dollar spot rate at December 31, 2014, compared to December 31, 2013, and the resulting impact on the translation of Telesat’s U.S. dollar denominated debt. Increased revenue, lower operating expenses and lower interest expense mitigated, in part, the impact of the foreign exchange loss on net income.

For the three month period ended December 31, 2014, consolidated revenues were $227 million, an increase of approximately 1% ($3 million) compared to the same period in 2013. When adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes, revenue decreased by 2% ($4 million) compared to the same period in 2014. Operating expenses were $46 million, a decrease of 8% ($4 million) compared to the same period in 2013, or a decrease of 10% ($5 million) taking into account foreign exchange rate changes. The decrease was primarily due to lower compensation expense compared to the same period in 2013. Adjusted EBITDA1 for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $183 million, an increase of 3% ($6 million) compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. When adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes, Adjusted EBITDA1 was unchanged compared to the same period in 2013. The Adjusted EBITDA margin1 was 81% for the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to 79% for the same period in 2013.

“I am very pleased with our performance last quarter and last year,” commented Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO. “Through careful and focused execution, we achieved stable revenues, reduced operating expenses, modestly increased Adjusted EBITDA1 and expanded our Adjusted EBITDA margin1 relative to 2013. Our industry-leading contractual backlog provides visibility into the stability of our future revenue and cash flow, and anticipated growing demand for satellite services positions us well to expand our activities going forward.”

Business Highlights

– At December 31, 2014:

— Telesat had contracted backlog for future services of approximately $4.5 billion.
— Fleet utilization was 92% for Telesat’s North American fleet and 82% for Telesat’s international fleet.

Telesat’s report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2014 has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and may be accessed on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Telesat has scheduled a conference call on Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. ET to discuss its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2014 and other recent developments. The call will be hosted by Daniel S. Goldberg, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Michel Cayouette, Chief Financial Officer, of Telesat.

Dial-in Instructions:
The toll-free dial-in number for the teleconference is +1 (800) 396-7098. Callers outside of North America should dial +1 (416) 340-2218. The conference reference number is 4210279. Please allow at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to connect to the teleconference.

Dial-in Audio Replay:
A replay of the teleconference will be available one hour after the end of the call on February 26, 2015, until 11:59 p.m. ET on March 12, 2015. To access the replay, please call +1 (800) 408-3053. Callers outside of North America should dial +1 (905) 694-9451. The access code is 9330944 followed by the number sign (#).

All Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margins included in this release are non-IFRS financial measures, as described in the End Notes section of this release. For information reconciling non-IFRS financial measures to the most comparable IFRS financial measures, please see the consolidated financial information below.

About Telesat (www.telesat.com)

Telesat is a leading global satellite operator, providing reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications solutions worldwide to broadcast, telecom, corporate and government customers. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices and facilities around the world, the company’s state-of-the-art fleet consists of 14 satellites and the Canadian payload on ViaSat-1 with another satellite under construction. Telesat also manages the operations of additional satellites for third parties. Privately held, Telesat’s principal shareholders are Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Loral Space & Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LORL).

For further information:
Michael Bolitho,
Telesat, +1 (613) 748-8700 ext. 2336
(ir@telesat.com)

Complete financial details with this release available here (PDF).