For the three month period ended September 30, 2012, Telesat reported consolidated revenues of $220 million, an increase of approximately 10% ($19 million) compared to the same period in 2011. When adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes over the period, revenue increased by 9% ($17 million) compared to the same period in 2011. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2012, consolidated revenues were $618 million, an increase of approximately 2% ($14 million) compared to the same period in 2011. When adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes, revenues increased by 1% ($8 million) compared to the same period in 2011. Telesat experienced meaningful revenue growth, relative to the third quarter of last year, principally as a result of the successful deployment of its Nimiq 6 satellite in the second quarter of 2012 and the beginning of commercial service of the Canadian payload on the ViaSat-1 satellite in December of 2011.
Adjusted EBITDA1 for the third quarter of 2012 was $175 million, an increase of 13% ($20 million) compared to the third quarter of 2011 and an increase of 12% ($19 million) when adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes. The Adjusted EBITDA margin1 was 80% for the third quarter compared to 77% for the same period in 2011. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2012, Adjusted EBITDA was $484 million, an increase of 4% ($17 million) over the same period of 2011 and an increase of 3% ($13 million) when adjusted for foreign exchange rate changes. The Adjusted EBITDA margin for the first nine months of 2012 was 78% compared to 77% for the same period in 2011.
Telesat reported net income of $115 million in the third quarter compared to a net loss of $141 million for the same period in 2011. The favorable variation in net income was principally the result of a gain on foreign exchange which was primarily due to the weakening of the U.S. dollar relative to the Canadian dollar during the quarter and its effect on the translation of Telesat’s U.S. dollar denominated debt into Canadian dollars. The favorable variations were partially offset by losses recognized on changes in the fair value of derivative instruments. The net loss was $29 million for the first nine months of 2012 compared to a net loss of $5 million for the same period in 2011.
“I am very pleased with our strong performance in the third quarter and first nine months of this year,” commented Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO. “Compared to the third quarter last year, we experienced meaningful growth in revenue and Adjusted EBITDA as well as continued expansion of our Adjusted EBITDA margin. In addition to the favorable financial performance, we completed construction of the Anik G1 satellite, which we expect to launch early next year and which has considerable expansion capacity that already is under long term contract with blue chip customers. In light of the expansion capacity that we have recently brought on line, the anticipated near term launch of Anik G1, and our industry-leading contractual backlog, we remain well positioned to achieve continued growth going forward.”