Telesat filed a legal action against Boeing in 2006, alleging that the company delivered the 702-model Anik F1 satellite with defective solar arrays and failed to inform the operator. Anik F1 was eventually launched in November 2000.

Speaking on a conference call, Telesat President and CEO Dan Goldberg did not disclose the terms of the settlement, but said the operator received an insurance payment in compensation for the defect, despite a Boeing countersuit. 

“[The settlement] was not material to our operations or financial position or results,” said Goldberg. “Anik F1 is expected to operate until 2022, but we may need to shut down some transponders to save power depending on the degradation of the flawed solar arrays.”

Aside from the lawsuit, Goldberg said he was very pleased with the operator’s strong performance in the 2012 third quarter. “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,” said Goldberg.

Telesat’s revenue growth was driven by 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 2011.

The operator also reported a 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 due the company’s gain on foreign exchange rates, as the U.S. dollar weakened relative to the Canadian dollar during the quarter. The favorable variations were partially offset by $29 million in net losses recognized on changes in the fair value of derivative instruments. The $29 million loss in the first nine months of 2012 is compared to a net loss of $5 million for the same period in 2011.