• Q2 revenue increased 15.5% year-over-year to $126.7 million; 3rd consecutive quarter of revenue growth  
• Strong Q2 Adjusted EBITDA margin performance of 31.1%
• Q2 backlog steady at $640.1 million with growth over December 31, 2020 of 13.7%
• Leveraged proceeds from $460 million IPO to repay $419 million term loan; ended the quarter with a strong financial position including minimal net debt of $31 million and $432 million of available liquidity
• In line with growth objectives the Company has hired more than 435 new employees since the beginning of the year

BRAMPTON, ON, August 11, 2021 /CNW/ - MDA Ltd. (TSX: MDA), a leading provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, today announced its financial results for the three-month period ended June 30, 2021. All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

“Driven by steady progress and momentum across the business, in the second quarter the Company delivered solid financial performance highlighted by double-digit revenue growth, gross margin improvements and robust Adjusted EBITDA margin performance of 31.1%,” said Mike Greenley, Chief Executive Officer, MDA. “With affordable and available financing in place to fund our strategic growth, a strong balance sheet and a healthy pipeline of existing and new opportunities, MDA is ideally positioned to capitalize on market growth.”

Q2 and Year-to-Date 2021 Financial Highlights:

Revenue

• Q2 total revenue was $126.7 million, up 15.5% year-over-year (YoY). On a year-to-date (YTD) basis total revenue was $250.1 million, up 17.5% compared to $212.9 million a year ago.
• Q2 GeoIntelligence revenue was $48.2 million, up 2.3% YoY. On a YTD basis, Geointelligence revenue was $97.2 million, up 6.5% from a year ago, driven by increased sales of satellite imagery and analytics services.
• Q2 Robotics and Space Operations revenue was $35.6 million up 10.6% year-over-year.  On a YTD basis, Robotics and Space Operations revenue was $69.9 million, up 19.9% compared from a year ago, largely driven by the Canadarm3 program.
• Q2 Satellite Systems revenue was $42.9 million up 41.1% YoY. On a YTD basis, revenue was $83 million, up 31.1% from a year ago, driven by increased volume.
• Backlog at June 30, 2021 increased 13.7% or $77.6 million over December 31, 2020 to $640.1 million.

Gross Margin and Operating Costs

• Q2 gross margin of $44.6 million or 35.2% increased $9.6 million over Q2 2020. On a YTD basis, gross margin was $83 million compared to $58.2 million over the same period in 2020 driven by volume increases across all three business areas and improved program performance. YTD GM% improved from 27.3% to 33.2%. 
• Q2 operating expenses were $33.5 million compared to $31.3 million in Q2 2020.  On a YTD basis operating expenses were $67.1 million compared to $48.6 million for the same period last year. Increases were primarily driven by the additional quarter of amortization of intangible assets, resulting from the April 2020 acquisition of MDA by Northern Private Capital and increased share-based compensation expenses following the introduction of a new stock option plan with commencement of grants awarded in Q4 2020.

Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA

• Net loss for Q2 2021 was $.1 million, an improvement of $9.0 million from a net loss in Q2 2020 of $9.1 million. On a YTD basis 2021 net income has improved from a net loss of $21.7 million in the prior year to a net loss of $1.7 million.  This improvement YTD is driven primarily by incremental gross profit related to increases in volume and improved program performance.
• Adjusted EBITDA in Q2 was $39.4 million, $5.2 million lower than prior year reflecting strong improvement in year over year operating income, offset by a reduction in income from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program (CEWS).  In the current quarter MDA recognized $4.8 million income from CEWS, as compared to $22.1 million in Q2 prior year, a $17.3 million reduction. On a YTD basis, Adjusted EBITDA was $78.5 million up from $61.8 million YoY.  

Refinancing

• The Company used a portion of the net proceeds from the previously announced initial public offering and over-allotment option of common shares to repay $419 million that was previously outstanding under the Term Loan facility.    
• The Company also converted its $80 million Revolving Credit Facility and its $435 million Term Loan Facility to a $450 million revolving credit facility. The undrawn revolving credit facility preserves sufficient liquidity to fund future growth, provides maximum borrowing flexibility and offers more favourable pricing.

 

Customer and Business Highlights:

• In Q2, MDA continued to expand its Geointelligence business with additional contracts for Earth observation imagery and analytic services, geospatial solutions, and defence information solutions from several existing customers including the Canadian Space Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among others. In July, MDA and its Geointelligence customer Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) Sinar Mas received a Project of the Year award and Judges Choice award from Environment + Energy Leader magazine for their innovative use of satellite imagery to monitor APP’s protected forest areas. The solution uses MDA’s Forest Alert Service (FAS) to track subtle forest disturbances allowing APP to monitor and react to change resulting from natural causes, illegal logging or encroachment.
• Post quarter end, in July, MDA Robotics and Space Operations was awarded a $35.3 million contract from the Canadian Space Agency for the design of the Gateway External Robotics Interfaces (GERI), a key component of the multi-year, multi-phase Canadarm3 program which will be installed on the international Lunar Gateway. Earlier this year, MDA completed Phase A, the system definition phase of this GERI project. The new contract award covers preliminary and detailed design of the robotic interfaces (Phases B and C). In the quarter, Robotics and Space Operations also received a contract for an early stage study from the European Space Agency which is developing a comprehensive satellite communications system to provide coverage for the entire Lunar ecosystem as part of their Moonlight programme. Once completed, the Moonlight system will provide communication connectivity between the Artemis Lunar Space Station, Earth and the Lunar surface. It will also connect a data relay satellite orbiting the Moon with Artemis, the Lunar surface and potentially extend to Earth.
• In Q2, Satellite Systems secured a series of new subcontracts including signing significant contracts with Airbus to provide antenna subsystems on Airbus’ OneSat digital software-defined satellite product line, and a contract with L3Harris Technologies and Lockheed Martin for the provision of LEO Antenna products for Space Development Agency’s Wide Field of View Tracking Tranche 0. Satellite Systems was also awarded a contract to design and build the X-Band Antenna for the Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 – also known as the SWFO-L1 program. The SWFO-L1 spacecraft by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is an operational mission for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center that will collect solar wind data and coronal imagery to meet operational requirements to monitor and forecast solar storm activity.  
• In line with the Company’s strategic growth objectives, in June MDA hosted its largest ever career fair, attracting more than 800 attendees to a successful virtual recruiting event. Since the beginning of the year, the Company has hired more than 435 new employees.  

 

Conference Call and Webcast

MDA Ltd. will host a conference call Wednesday, August 11th at 6:00pm EST to discuss its Q2 2021 financial results. The call and webcast are accessible as follows:

Local or International:             +1 (416) 764-8609

Toll-free North America:         +1 (888) 390-0605

Toll-free International:             08006522435

Conference ID:                       77197556

Webcast: https://produceredition.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1481095&tp_key=b6f255eafb

The conference call replay will be available after the call until September 11, 2021 and accessible as follows:

Local or International:             +1 (416) 764-8677

Toll-free North America:         +1 (888) 390-0541

Passcode:                               197556#

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES

⁽¹⁾ EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

We define EBITDA as net income (loss) before: i) depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets, ii) provision for (recovery of) income taxes, and iii) interest expense and financing costs. Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure used by management and other users of our financial statements including our lenders and the investors, to assess the financial performance of our business without regard to financing methods or capital structure.

Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adding and deducting, as applicable, certain expenses, costs, charges or benefits incurred in such period which in management’s view are either not indicative of underlying business performance or impact the ability to assess the operating performance of our business, including i) unrealized foreign exchange loss  on foreign currency forward contracts ii)  unrealized loss on embedded derivatives iii) restructuring costs iv) impairment of investments, and vi) share based compensation.

Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue represents Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue.

⁽²⁾ Backlog

Backlog is the dollar sum of revenue that is expected to be recognized from firm customer contracts. Backlog is indicative of firm future revenue streams; however, it does not provide a guarantee of future net income and provides no information about the timing of future revenue.

 

ABOUT MDA

Serving the world from its Canadian home and global offices, MDA is an international space mission partner and a robotics, satellite systems and geointelligence pioneer with a 50-year story of firsts on and above the Earth. With over 2,000 employees across Canada, the US and the UK, MDA is leading the charge towards viable Moon colonies, enhanced Earth observation, communication in a hyper-connected world, and more. With a track record of making space ambitions come true, MDA enables highly skilled people to continually push boundaries, tackle big challenges, and imagine solutions that inspire and endure to change the world for the better, on the ground and in the stars.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release may contain forward‐looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflects the Company’s current expectations regarding future events. Forward‐looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward‐looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in the final long form prospectus of the Company dated April 1, 2021. MDA does not undertake any obligation to update such forward‐looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.

CONTACT

Amy MacLeod

amy.macleod@mda.space

613-796-6937