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TELESAT . Telesat Reports Results for the Quarter Ended March 31 , 2021 OTTAWA , CANADA , May 14 , 2021 - Telesat today announced its financial results for the three - month period ended March 31 , 2021. All amounts are in Canadian dollars and reported under International Financial Reporting Standards ( " IFRS " ) unless otherwise noted . For the quarter ended March 31 , 2021 , consolidated revenue was $ 190 million , a decrease of 9 % ( $ 18 million ) compared to the same period in 2020. Adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes , revenue declined 6 % ( $ 13 million ) . The largest single contributor to the decrease , excluding the impact of foreign exchange rate changes , was the adverse impact the COVID - 19 pandemic has had on certain customers serving the commercial airline and cruise industries . Operating expenses of $ 40 million for the quarter were 12 % ( $ 6 million ) lower than the same period in 2020. Adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes , operating expenses declined by 11 % ( $ 5 million ) . The decrease was primarily as a result of the reversal of a bad debt provision in the current quarter compared to a bad debt provision in the same period in the previous year . This was partially offset by higher wages due to the hiring of additional employees to support the Telesat Lightspeed program . Adjusted EBITDA¹ for the quarter was $ 152 million , a decrease of 8 % ( $ 14 million ) compared to the same period in 2020. Adjusted for changes in foreign exchange rates , Adjusted EBITDA¹ declined by 5 % ( $ 9 million ) compared to the first quarter of 2020. The Adjusted EBITDA margin¹ for the first quarter of 2021 was 80.0 % , compared to 79.6 % in the same period in 2020 . Telesat's net income for the quarter was $ 42 million compared to a net loss of $ 278 million for the quarter ended March 31 , 2020. The $ 320 million difference was the result of non - cash gains on foreign exchange arising principally from the translation of Telesat's U.S. dollar denominated debt into Canadian dollars in the first quarter of 2021 , compared to non - cash losses on foreign exchange in the first quarter of 2020 . " Our first quarter results reflect , in part , the adverse impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on revenue , which did not impact the prior period , " commented Dan Goldberg , Telesat's President and CEO . " Nonetheless , we continued to generate strong cash flows and maintained high operating margins and a substantial contractual backlog , which provides high visibility into our future performance . " Goldberg added : " I am also pleased that we made significant progress on our revolutionary Telesat Lightspeed constellation during the quarter , including making key announcements concerning the manufacturing of the constellation . Important work to progress the Lightspeed program is underway with a range of key Lightspeed suppliers , including Thales Alenia Space and MDA . We also continue to make significant progress on securing the financing for Lightspeed , announcing last quarter