Telesat Achieves Strong Growth in Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA in First Quarter 2009

OTTAWA, May 11, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Telesat Holdings Inc. (Telesat) today
announced its unaudited financial results for the three month period ended March
31, 2009. Unless otherwise stated herein, all amounts are in Canadian Dollars
(CAD).

Consolidated revenues and Adjusted EBITDA for the three month period were $204
million and $143 million, respectively. Revenues rose by approximately 25% ($41
million) and Adjusted EBITDA improved by 47% ($46 million) compared to 2008
unaudited first quarter results. Revenues increased as a result of a full
quarter of Nimiq 4 revenues in the first quarter of 2009, higher US/ Canadian
dollar exchange rates and higher utilization of the international fleet.
Adjusted for changes in foreign exchange rates, revenue and Adjusted EBITDA
increased by 14% and 34%, respectively. The Adjusted EBITDA margin was 70% for
the three month period, compared to a margin of 60% for the same period last
year.

As a result of non-cash losses arising from foreign exchange Telesat reported a
net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2009 of $39 million. The non-cash
foreign exchange loss for the three months, related to the Company's US dollar
denominated debt, was $101 million. Foreign exchange losses were partially
offset by non-cash gains on financial instruments. These gains were primarily
related to the Company's US dollar hedging program on a portion of its long-term
debt and capital expenditure commitments.

At March 31, 2009, Telesat had contracted backlog for future services of $5.3
billion.

Dan Goldberg, Telesat's President and CEO, commented: "I am very pleased with
our performance for the first quarter. Consistent with our expectations, we
experienced significant growth in revenues, even more significant growth in
EBITDA and a meaningful expansion in our EBITDA margin when compared to the same
period last year. In addition, Telstar 11N was successfully launched and brought
into service and we are making steady progress in increasing its utilization.
Although there are a range of challenges in this difficult economic environment,
our industry-leading contractual backlog and focused execution on both the
revenue and cost side of our business keep us well positioned as we move through
the balance of the year."

Highlights

* Telstar T11N was successfully launched on February 26, 2009, and
entered commercial service on March 31, 2009.

* Nimiq 5 remains under construction and is anticipated to be
launched late in 2009. Nimiq 5 is fully leased to Bell TV, which
will use the new satellite to enhance and expand its
industry-leading high definition television services across Canada.
Bell TV has subleased half the capacity of Nimiq 5 to EchoStar
Corporation and Dish Network for the provision of direct-to-home
satellite services in the United States.

* As previously announced, Telesat is in discussions regarding the
potential sale of its interests in certain of its international
satellites and related assets and business. Any potential
transaction is subject to further due diligence and other
conditions and Telesat cannot at this time assess the probability
of concluding any transaction under discussion or under what terms,
including price, these assets may be sold.
Telesat has posted its unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements for the three
month period ending March 31, 2009 on its website at www.telesat.com under the
tab "Media Room" in the "Investor Relations" section.

Adjusted EBITDA

Telesat Holdings Inc. ("Telesat" or "Telesat's") EBITDA consists of earnings
before interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization. Telesat's Adjusted
EBITDA is EBITDA before goodwill and other impairment charges, other income, and
amortization of stock based compensation, adjusted for sales type lease revenues
and expenses. Telesat presents Telesat's Adjusted EBITDA to provide further
information with respect to its operating performance. Telesat's Adjusted EBITDA
margin is defined as Telesat's Adjusted EBITDA divided by total revenues.
Telesat's Adjusted EBITDA is used as one criterion for evaluating its
performance relative to that of its peers. It is believed that Telesat's
Adjusted EBITDA is an operating performance measure, and not a liquidity
measure, that provides investors and analysts with a measure of operating
results unaffected by differences in capital structures, capital investment
cycles and ages of related assets among otherwise comparable companies. However,
Telesat's Adjusted EBITDA and Telesat's Adjusted EBITDA margin are not measures
of financial performance under Canadian GAAP or United States GAAP, and may not
be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. You should not
consider Telesat's Adjusted EBITDA or Telesat's Adjusted EBITDA margin as an
alternative to operating income or net loss or operating or net income (loss)
margin, determined in accordance with Canadian GAAP or United States GAAP, as an
indicator of Telesat's operating performance, or as an alternative to cash flows
from operating activities, determined in accordance with Canadian GAAP or United
States GAAP, as an indicator of cash flows or as a measure of liquidity.

Telesat Holdings Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Loss
(in millions of Canadian dollars)

Three months
-----------------------
2009 2008
------- -------
Operating revenues
Service revenues 198.8 155.2
Equipment sales revenues 5.2 7.5
------- -------
Operating revenues 204.1 162.7
------- -------

Amortization 61.3 58.7
Operations and administration 58.2 59.5
Cost of equipment sales 4.4 6.0
------- -------
Total operating expenses 123.9 124.2
------- -------
Earnings from operations 80.2 38.5
Interest expense 71.1 65.3
Other expense 43.9 90.9
------- -------
Loss before income taxes (34.8) (117.7)
Income tax expense (recovery) 4.3 (16.3)
------- -------

Net loss applicable to common shares (39.1) (101.4)
======= =======
Telesat Holdings Inc.
Quarter ended March 31, 2009 vs. quarter ended March 31, 2008
(in millions of Canadan dollars)

Quarter Quarter
Ended Ended
March 31 March 31
2009 2008 Variance
-------- -------- --------
Service revenues 198.8 155.2 43.6
Equipment sales revenues 5.2 7.5 (2.3)
-------- -------- --------
204.0 162.7 41.3
-------- -------- --------

Operating and administration expense 58.2 59.5 1.3
Cost of equipment sales 4.4 6.0 1.6
Stock-based compensation expense (1.6) -- 1.6
-------- -------- --------
61.0 65.5 4.5
-------- -------- --------

Adjusted EBITDA 143.0 97.2 45.8
======== ======== ========

EBITDA Margin 70% 60%
Conference Call

Telesat has scheduled a conference call to discuss its financial results for the
three month period ended March 31, 2009 for Monday, May 11, 2009 at 10:30 a.m.
EDT. The call will be hosted by Dan Goldberg, President & Chief Executive
Officer, and Michel Cayouette, Chief Financial Officer of Telesat. A
presentation that will be addressed on the conference call has been posted to
the Company's website.

Dial-in Instructions:

The toll-free dial-in for the teleconference is +1-866-226-1793. International
callers should dial +1-416-340-2218. The access code is 4006270. Please allow at
least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to connect to the
teleconference.

Dial-in Audio Replay:

A replay of the teleconference will be available beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT May
11, 2009, until 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 25, 2009. To access the replay, please
call +1-800-408-3053. International callers should dial +1-416-695-5800. The
access code is 5316307 followed by the number sign (#).

About Telesat (www.telesat.com)

Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices and facilities around the world,
Telesat is the fourth largest fixed satellite services operator. The company
provides reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications solutions to
broadcast, telecom, corporate and government customers. Telesat has a global
state-of-the-art fleet of 13 satellites and one additional satellite under
construction, and manages the operations of 13 additional satellites for third
parties. Telesat is privately held. Its principal shareholders are Canada's
Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Loral Space & Communications Inc.
(NASDAQ: LORL).

Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act

This news release may contain statements that are not based on historical fact
and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this release concerning
the beliefs, expectations, intentions, future events, future performance,
business prospects and business strategy, including statements regarding
projections for 2009 and beyond, are based on several assumptions. If any of
these assumptions are not satisfied or prove to be incorrect, actual results
could differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements,
depending on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, Telesat's
ability to implement its business strategy and competition in the market. The
information presented in this release reflects Telesat's expectations as of the
date of this release. Telesat undertakes no obligation to update or revise the
information herein.

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CONTACT: Telesat Holdings Inc.
Vanessa Brule
(613) 748-8700 ext. 2407
vbrule@telesat.com