Canada's Telesat says MDA to build 198 satellites, shares soar (updated)

MDA Space

11/08/2023 16:54

(Adds share movements in paragraph 2, details on results in
paragraphs 9-10)
       Aug 11 (Reuters) - Satellite operator Telesat  TSAT.TO 
 TSAT.O  has given space tech firm MDA  MDA.TO  a C$2.1 billion
($1.56 billion) contract to build 198 satellites for its
low-earth orbit program.
    The deal announced on Friday sparked a more than 45% surge
in both Telesat's Canadian and U.S. shares, putting them on
track for their best day ever. MDA, meanwhile, rose about 29%.
    Telesat said it had earmarked $3.5 billion as capital
expenditure for the Lightspeed project and that the MDA deal had
helped it save $2 billion.
    The launches are scheduled to commence in mid-2026, with
polar and global services scheduled to begin in late 2027.
    By using MDA's beam-forming array antennas and integrated
regenerative processor, the redesigned Telesat Lightspeed
network will achieve increased network efficiency and enhanced
flexibility to focus and deliver capacity to users, the company
said in a statement.
    The technology would also allow each satellite to be
slightly smaller than the ones Telesat was previously
considering.
    Telesat's Lightspeed network is designed to serve the
connectivity requirements of enterprise and government users,
with highly secure, resilient, low-latency broadband
connectivity anywhere in the world.
    The company launched its first LEO 3 demonstration satellite
aboard Rocket Lab's Electron rocket in July.
    Telesat earlier on Friday also reported second-quarter
results. The company posted a profit of C$519.9 million,
compared with a year-ago loss of C$4.38 million.
    Revenue fell 4% to C$179.8 million. 
    
 ($1 = 1.3449 Canadian dollars)

 (Reporting by Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru and Denny
Thomas in Toronto; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Shounak
Dasgupta)
 ((Samrhitha.A@thomsonreuters.com))