California-based satellite operator Viasat – which also owns Inmarsat – has released its Q4 and full year results.

The company announced record new contract awards and backlog, along with modest growth in revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA, both of which were also at record levels. Highlight include:

· Cash generation of nearly $600 million in free cash flow, and approximately $180 million excluding the Ligado lump sum payment. Viasat delivered positive free cash flow in each of the last five quarters. Viasat said it achieved this while still continuing to invest in tht future.

· Strengthening capital structure – including very substantial progress towards net debt relative to LTM Adjusted EBITDA ratio stated goal of below 3x

· Viasat said it expects to participate as the initial technology prime contractor for Equatys, its planned joint-venture with Abu Dhabi’s Space42.

Viasat has recently launched and deployed its important ViaSat-3 F3 satellite, noting: “Subsequent to quarter end, we successfully completed all deployments on VS-3 F2 including the reflectors and boom, and VS-3 F3 launched successfully on April 29th. Since then, radiator and solar array deployments have been successfully completed and orbit raising is underway. VS-3 F3, planned to cover the Asia-Pacific region, is expected to arrive on station in approximately one month, with service entry anticipated in August or September calendar year 2026.”

“Looking ahead, we have three key near-term focus areas to drive growth in fiscal year 2027 and beyond. Our ongoing fleet expansion is expected to roughly triple bandwidth inventory – and increasing adaptive beamforming flexibility provides an additional boost to the fleet’s effective capacity, offering higher speeds on both forward and return links. We will also expand our fleet wide multi-orbit capabilities in maritime by augmenting our existing LEO and GEO resources. We are making steady progress on our Aera Ka-band multi-orbit terminal for IFC, which has already entered the Line-Fit certification process for all Boeing commercial airliners,” stated Viasat.

“Telesat is also progressing with the launch of its first pathfinder Lightspeed LEO satellites, scheduled this year, with initial global service planned for late next year. While the market for broadband satellite services is very competitive, it is also growing rapidly, and we believe we have a good opportunity to grow with it.,” Viasat added.

“Developing and deploying multi-tenant, multi-orbit L- and S-band shared infrastructure delivering next-generation Mobile Satellite Services, including for global aero and maritime safety, as well as next-generation air, ground, and maritime vehicle autonomy, along with mobile D2D opportunities – with a focus on lowering capital intensity. While we are aiming for services in calendar year 2029, we are targeting significant revenue from our role as the technology provider for Equatys, the space infrastructure entity we are forming along with Space42,” stated the company.

As to the company’s financials, Viasat said: “Achieved record awards of $4.9 billion, driven primarily by an 8 per cent year over-year (YoY) increase in the Communication Services segment. We ended the year with a record backlog of $4.1 billion, representing a 15 per cent increase over the prior year. The Defense and Advanced Technologies segment achieved a record backlog, growing 23 per cent YoY, while the Communication Services segment backlog grew 11 per cent YoY. Net loss of $34 million improved YoY from a net loss of $575 million. This improvement reflects the gain on the sale of our equity investment in Navarino, higher interest income recognised on the deferral of Ligado’s quarterly fees (received as part of the lump sum payment), and higher impairment charges and loss on extinguishment of debt related to refinancing activity in the prior year.”

“[We] delivered record revenue of $4.6 billion and record Adjusted EBITDA of $1.6 billion,” concluded the company.

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Categories: Articles, Business, Results

Tags: Inmarsat, Viasat