Intelsat Announces Third Quarter 2021 Results

November 04, 2021

Intelsat S.A. announced financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2021.

Intelsat reported total revenue was $526.1 million and net loss attributable to Intelsat S.A. was $145.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021.

Intelsat reported EBITDA1, or earnings before net interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization, of $146.1 million and Adjusted EBITDA1 of $283.3 million, or 54% of revenue, for the three months ended September 30, 2021.

Intelsat’s Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Spengler, said, “We delivered strong quarterly sequential results despite the secular headwinds impacting the satellite industry. Network Services benefited from the continued recovery in North American airline travel resulting in higher in-flight connectivity revenues. Media was impacted by a large planned service migration from the Intelsat network onto customer-owned assets coupled with the ongoing business trends. The start of hosted payload service on our Galaxy 30 satellite and continued demand for our FlexMove land mobility managed services created positive momentum for our Government business.”

Spengler concluded, “Our team remains committed to delivering a superior customer experience while making critical investments to expand our ability to deliver mission critical services. We remain focused on executing the C-band relocation to secure accelerated payments, maintaining a high standard of operational excellence, and transforming our business. Investment in our next generation network, coupled with our unmatched scale and partnerships, will position us well to secure new business opportunities.”

Third Quarter 2021 Business Highlights

Intelsat provides critical communications infrastructure to customers in the network services, media and government sectors. Our customers use our services for broadband connectivity to deliver fixed and mobile telecommunications, enterprise, video distribution and fixed and mobile government applications.

Network Services

Network services revenue was $241.7 million (or 46% of Intelsat’s total revenue, which consolidates revenue from our commercial aviation business), for the three months ended September 30, 2021, an increase of 43% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020. Factors positively impacting revenue included in- flight connectivity services and the expansion of services with mobility and network customers. The increase in revenue was partially offset by specific non-renewals and capacity and price reductions across our mobility and networks customer sets.

Media 

Media revenue was $181.1 million (or 34% of Intelsat’s total revenue) for the three months ended September 30, 2021, a decrease of 11% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020. The decline in media was primarily driven by a planned service migration by a specific customer from Intelsat's network to the customer's own network assets. Other factors impacting revenue were terminations and non-renewals reflecting industry trends. The declines in revenue were slightly offset by new business expansion.

Government

Government revenue was $95.0 million (or 18% of Intelsat’s total revenue) for the three months ended September 30, 2021, a 12% decrease compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020. The decline was largely due to a one-time equipment sale last year. The decline in revenue was partially offset by new hosted payload services on our Galaxy 30 satellite and increased demand for FlexMove land mobility managed services.

Average Fill Rate

Intelsat’s average fill rate as of September 30, 2021 on our approximately 1,620 36 MHz station-kept wide-beam transponders was 74%, similar to our average fill rate at June 30, 2021. In addition, as of September 30, 2021 our fleet included approximately 1,224 36 MHz equivalent transponders which is consistent with the prior quarter.

Contracted Backlog

At September 30, 2021, Intelsat’s contracted backlog, representing expected future revenue under existing contracts with customers, was $5.7 billion, as compared to $6.0 billion at June 30, 2021.

Financial Results for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 

Total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2021 increased by $36.6 million to $526.1 million, or an increase of 7 percent as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020, primarily reflecting the consolidation of revenue from our commercial aviation business.

Direct costs of revenue (excluding depreciation and amortization) increased by $57.2 million, or 48 percent, to $177.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a $73.6 million increase in costs attributable to our commercial aviation business, partially offset by a $13.0 million decrease in equipment costs largely related to government customers incurred in 2020 and a $3.6 million decrease in staff-related expenses.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $27.6 million, or 40 percent, to $96.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a $28.6 million increase in costs attributable to our commercial aviation business and a $4.4 million increase in staff-related expenses largely relating to our employee retention incentive plans, partially offset by a $6.5 million decrease in professional fees.

Depreciation and amortization expense decreased by $0.6 million, or less than 1%, to $162.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020. Significant items impacting depreciation and amortization in the period included a decrease of $8.3 million in depreciation expense due to the timing of certain satellites becoming fully depreciated. This decrease was partially offset by an increase of $6.5 million in depreciation and amortization expense attributable to our commercial aviation business as well as an increase of $3.3 million in depreciation expense resulting from the impact of a certain satellite placed into service.

Other operating expense—C-band consists of reimbursable and non-reimbursable costs associated with our C-band spectrum relocation efforts. We incurred $17.9 million of C-band clearing related expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2021, with no material comparable amounts for the three months ended September 30, 2020.

Interest expense, net consists of the gross interest expense we incur, together with gains and losses on interest rate cap contracts we held that matured in February 2021 (which reflected the change in their fair value), offset by interest income earned and the amount of interest we capitalize related to assets under construction.

Interest expense, net decreased by $11.5 million, or 8 percent, to $126.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020. This was primarily due to a decrease of $12.9 million due to higher capitalized interest primarily resulting from increased levels of satellites and related assets under construction, partially offset by a $4.8 million increase in interest expense primarily recognized on our senior secured credit facilities.

The non-cash portion of interest expense, net was $26.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, primarily consisting of interest expense related to the significant financing component identified in customer contracts and amortization and accretion of discounts and premiums.

Other income, net was $10.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to $3.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020. The net increase in other income primarily consisted of a $7.3 million gain from the conversion of stock warrants into common shares of a newly merged public company, and $1.8 million related to an amendment fee for a loan receivable.

Reorganization items reflect direct costs incurred in connection with our Chapter 11 restructuring activities. Reorganization items of $98.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 primarily consisted of professional fees and financing fees related to our debtor-in-possession senior secured credit facilities. Reorganization items of $36.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 primarily consisted of professional fees.

Income tax expense increased by $21.3 million to $2.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2020. The increase was principally attributable to higher income from our U.S. subsidiaries, withholding taxes on revenue earned in some of the non-U.S. jurisdictions in which we operate, and prior year adjustments from impacts of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds, totaled $2.1 million and $0.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2021, respectively. 

Net Income, Net Income per Diluted Common Share attributable to Intelsat S.A., EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

Net loss attributable to Intelsat S.A. was $145.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, compared to a net loss of $15.9 million for the same period in 2020.

Net loss per diluted common share attributable to Intelsat S.A. was $(1.02) for the three months ended September 30, 2021, compared to net loss of $(0.11) per diluted common share for the same period in 2020.

EBITDA was $146.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, compared to $266.7 million for the same period in 2020, reflecting lower interest expense, lower income, and higher reorganization fees as described above.

Adjusted EBITDA was $283.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021, or 54 percent of revenue, compared to $332.9 million, or 68 percent of revenue, for the same period in 2020.

Free Cash Flow Used In Operations1

Net cash provided by operating activities was $11.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021. Free cash flow used in operations was $187.1 million for the same period. Free cash flow from (used in) operations is defined as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities and other proceeds from satellites from investing activities, less payments for satellites and other property and equipment (including capitalized interest) from investing activities. Payments for satellites and other property and equipment from investing activities, net during the three months ended September 30, 2021 were $198.9 million.