Maxar ends debt-cutting 2020 with $303M profit

WESTMINSTER — Maxar Technologies Inc. (NYSE/TSX: MAXR) closed out its final quarter of 2020 with a loss, but ended the year with an 177% increase in net profit compared to the year before.

The Westminster-based satellite maker posted revenues of $467 million and a loss-per-share of 65 cents, beating Wall Street consensus revenues by $14.35 million but missing the earnings-per-share mark by 81 cents, according to data from finance site Seeking Alpha.

Its net losses for the quarter amounted to $40 million.

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For the entirety of 2020, Maxar posted revenues of $1.72 billion and lost 76 cents per share from ongoing operations.

It ended with $303 million in net profits, a sharp increase compared to the $109 million in profits it generated the year prior. However, its 2019 performance was muted by the failure of its WorldView-4 imaging satellite that led to a major sell-off in the company’s stock.

The main target for Maxar last year was reducing its long-term obligations, which was just under $3 billion at the end of 2019. The company spun off its Canadian subsidiary to a group of private-equity groups for $729 million, most of which went toward debt service.

Maxar also spent $140 million to Swedish conglomerate Saab AB to buy full control of 3D analytics firm Vricon Inc.

In a statement, Chief Financial Officer Biggs Porter said the company should be in a better position to produce cash flow moving forward.

“For 2021, we expect to see revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth and an improvement in free cash flow. Importantly, we have also increased our 2023 targets to better reflect the earnings and cash generation power we see ahead,” he said.

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