Intelsat Reports Double-Digit Revenue Decrease in Q1 

Intelsat’s North America headquarters. Photo: Intelsat

Intelsat S.A. released its First Quarter (Q1) 2020 results on Thursday, its first quarterly results since filing for bankruptcy in May. The company reported a net loss attributable to Intelsat S.A. of $218.8 million, an 81% increase over $120.6 million net loss reported in Q1 2019. Total revenue was $458.8 million, down 13% from Q1 2019 revenue. 

CEO Stephen Spengler said the COVID-19 pandemic created “challenges” for Intelsat’s underlying business. 

“Our first quarter results reflect the decline in sea and air travel which negatively impacted our network services business. The media business also experienced disruptions primarily related to the decline in “occasional use” services for sporting events and concerts which were cancelled to comply with the broad stay-at-home orders issued during the period. We were pleased with the resilience of the government services business which delivered stable results in a challenging environment while generating renewals and new business contracts,” Spengler said. 

Network Services, comprising 33% of Intelsat’s revenue, generated $149 million in revenue, a decrease of $54.9 million compared to Q1 2019. Intelsat’s Network Services made up a smaller portion of its revenue this quarter compared to the same time period last year, when it made up 39%. Intelsat’s Media business made up 45% of revenue in Q1, reporting $205.8 million, about $20 million less than the same time period in 2019. 

Intelsat attributed the decline in Network Services revenue related to non-renewals and renewals at lower pricing, and cited lower revenue in the current quarter compared with the same period last year because the loss of Intelsat 29e April 2019.

Intelsat declined to host a financial results conference call, citing its recent Chapter 11 filing.