Viasat Faces Another Satellite Malfunction Within A Month: What's Going On?

Viasat Inc VSAT reports the malfunctioning of its Inmarsat-6 F2 (I6 F2) satellite, launched on February 18, 2023.

The company reported that the satellite suffered a power subsystem anomaly during its orbit-raising phase.

Viasat and the satellite's manufacturer, Airbus SE EADSY, are working jointly to learn the cause of the anomaly and evaluate whether the satellite is fit to perform its mission. 

Airbus termed this anomaly as an unprecedented event and said that none of its geostationary telecommunication satellites have ever suffered a failure in orbit.

Viasat has already insured manufacturing and launch costs of the I6 F2 satellite and expects near-term cash positions to improve. 

The company does not expect the incident to materially impact the FY24 outlook for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth.

The company expects revenue growth in the high single-digit percentages and adjusted EBITDA growth in high single-digit to low double-digits.

Notably, this is Viasat's second satellite malfunction within almost a month.

Last month, the satellite communications services provider reported an unexpected event during reflector deployment that may materially impact the performance of the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite.

Price Action: VSAT shares closed lower by 2.04% at $26.88 on Thursday.