[Satellite TODAY 05-06-11] Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg chose to remain silent on a possible IPO or company sale after reporting a 6 percent increase in his company’s first quarter 2011 earnings at $157 million during a May 5 conference call.
    Goldberg said that while the operator has no progress to report publicly at this time, the company is assessing potential opportunities. “We’ve got our eyes closely focused on the market and the market conditions, which are obviously strong right now. We have a fair amount of options in terms of different things we can do and we obviously wont let this drag on forever,” Goldberg said on a conference call.
    Several media outlets have reported that Echostar Corp. and the Carlyle Group are among several entities that have made offers to acquire the operator after Telesat announced it was considering “strategic alternatives” earlier this year. Telesat refused to comment on the acquisition rumors.
    Telesat’s net income grew to $115 million compared with $80 million in the same period last year, due to higher revenues, lower operating expenses and improved valuation on financial instruments and slightly offset by unfavorable foreign exchange rates.
    During the quarter, Telesat contracted Loral to take over the Canadian payload of its ViaSat-1 and Telstar 11 satellites. Telesat’s next satellite launch is scheduled for May 20, which will see Telstar 14R orbited to increase the operator’s broadcast capacity in the Americas and Atlantic region.