At MDA, We Take You There
Those are the words we live by, because at the core of everything we do is the fundamental belief that we are taking our customers, our team, our industry partners and our investors where they want to go in the expanding and evolving space economy.
With innovative technologies and services that address opportunities across this burgeoning economy, which is forecast to reach US$1 trillion+ by 20402, we are taking our commercial and space agency clients to low Earth orbit, to the moons of Earth and Mars, to faraway asteroids, to deep space, and wherever else their missions require.
We are taking the highly-skilled members of our fast-growing MDA team to a place where they can find their dream jobs in the space industry, turning inspiration into innovations that can change the world for the better on the ground and among the stars.
We are taking the partners we work with – from new entrants like Rocket Lab to long-established players like Lockheed Martin – to where their businesses need to go, using our unique position at the centre of the industry as a base for collaboration.
And in doing so, we are taking our investors on a journey to build long-term value by extending our leadership as an innovative space technology provider. One that is connected to opportunities across the US$370 billion global space economy. One that is bringing in new business and meaningfully growing its backlog as we execute on our opportunity funnel. One that is generating sustainable profitability and operating cash flow by executing on that backlog with a focus on responsible management.
And one that is helping to solve some of humanity’s most pressing problems – from monitoring climate change to bringing worldwide internet connectivity through space-based networks to helping Ukraine defend itself against aggression by providing critical images of our planet.
1 Source: Euroconsult
2 Source: Morgan Stanley & U.S. Chamber of Commerce
$370B
Size of global space economy today1
Space: A Market with Growth
The soaring activity in space, particularly over the past year, has further illustrated the strength and depth of the market, and the growing opportunity for MDA.
Last year alone we saw government investment in space rise to approaching $92 billion, growing at a high-single-digit pace year over year. We also saw a record US$14.5 billion invested in commercial space infrastructure companies, up 50% from 2020. There were a record 146 launch attempts, surpassing the earliest space exploration heyday of the 1960s and 70s. That means more satellites, more space exploration, and more opportunity for MDA.
We serve nearly every sector of the space economy. With our leadership in Geointelligence, Robotics & Space Operations, and Satellite Systems, we participate directly in some of its fastest growing areas. Our proven ability to deliver successfully positions us as a partner of choice for leading commercial space companies, prime contractors, and government agencies worldwide.
1,200
Flight products delivered in 2021 (approx.), including:
913
Antennas
208
Electronic units
42
Robotic interfaces
3
Payloads
Space: A Market with Purpose
Our satellites monitor climate change by tracking factors such as ice cap fluctuations and deforestation. We can see immigration and illegal fishing patterns, and help our partners, governments and people understand what these images mean through our analytics.
Our work on low Earth orbit constellations, including GlobalStar, Telesat and OneWeb, hold the potential to bring the internet everywhere on the globe and deliver what the United Nations has deemed a basic human right, empowering people who previously lacked access to the internet to get an education, start a small business and be connected to the world.
We are providing images captured by our Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology, which is unique for its ability to see through darkness and all weather and cloud conditions, to help international efforts in Ukraine. Since March 2022, images captured by MDA are being merged and analyzed with other sources of imagery from commercial Earth observation companies to develop comprehensive, near real-time intelligence reports to enable Ukrainian government officials to help protect their people.
Our work leads to new technologies we can use here on Earth, and it inspires people across Canada and around the world to specialize in science, technology, engineering, and math – skills that will drive our economy in the years to come.
The work we do in space matters on Earth. We are proud of that.
6.8B
km2 scanned by RADARSAT-2 in 2021 – 12 times the surface area of the Earth
Building long-term value
Our goal at MDA is to create long-term, sustainable value for our customers, our employees and our investors.
We start from a great place of growing end-markets, coupled with the benefit of a 50-year track record of success and innovation, broad customer relationships, a world-class portfolio of patents and technologies, and a stellar team that makes it all work.
We are well-positioned to capture our share of the big opportunity ahead of us. To work towards this goal, we concentrate on serving our customers, growing our backlog, executing well, managing responsibly, constantly innovating, and providing our people a great place to work.
Our 2021 revenues were $477 million, up 16% year over year, and we continue to deliver contract wins and mature new business opportunities that broaden our customer set.
We have a clearly articulated plan to capitalize on the tremendous market opportunity ahead of us, both from a revenue and profitability perspective. We are on track.
Since the beginning of 2021 we have accomplished a vast amount, including:
- Being selected as the prime contractor on a 17-satellite constellation for Globalstar Inc.
- Moving ahead with two phases of the Canadarm3 program
- Advancing the next generation Earth observation mission now known as CHORUS, which we announced last year and is now well underway
- Being selected to provide one of the critical technology subsystems on Telesat Lightspeed
- Completing the first commercial sale of our Canadarm3 technology to Axiom Space
- Winning the initial contract to develop systems for the new Canadian Surface Combatant ships
- Being awarded a three-year contract with the Government of Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Defence Research and Development Canada to use satellite technology to detect vessels engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing
- Being awarded multiple contracts to provide lunar landing sensors, including a contract for Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Martian moons exploration mission, and an initial design phase contract from the Canadian Space Agency for a lunar rover
- Completing our initial public offering on April 7 of last year, and setting off on a path to build value as a publicly-traded company
In all, we ended 2021 with a backlog of $864 million, up 54% over the year prior. In the first quarter of 2022, we expanded our backlog further to $1,517 million, representing an impressive 122% increase over our backlog in the first quarter of 2021.
We are building our capacity to execute on that business by hiring and successfully onboarding about 670 new people last year, with plans to bring on more this year.
We’re also scaling up facilities. Earlier this year, we announced the construction of our new purpose-built headquarters and Centre of Excellence for Space Robotics in Brampton, with mission control facilities to support commercialization of our robotics projects.
We said we would generate revenue growth and strong profitability while being responsible stewards of the business. Our margins set us apart from our peers, and our healthy financials give us the flexibility to deploy growth capital into the business.
We said we’d be a great employer. To keep our employees safe, we administered 25,000 rapid COVID-19 screenings last year. And our employees did their part by getting the COVID-19 vaccines, leading to a 99% vaccination rate.
Our ambition is to transform MDA into the leading space technology provider, building on a multi-decade legacy of successfully solving complex mission problems. Where we are today demonstrates that transformation is well underway.
MDA LIDAR-based landing sensors
Going to moons of Earth and Mars
$477M
2021 revenues (+16%)
670
New hires in 2021 to support growth
A new place
We are at a new place in space, and a new place for MDA.
What we have accomplished over the past year has meaningfully improved our positioning in the marketplace. Across MDA, we are building on the legacy of pioneering programs such as RADARSAT and Canadarm to win new business – at home and abroad.
In Satellite Systems, we are investing in new technologies and capabilities and building up our high-volume satellite manufacturing capacity to strengthen our position as more low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation opportunities emerge.
In Robotics & Space Operations, we're winning follow-on space agency work and working with a wide variety of new and exciting commercial opportunities to provide both proven technology solutions and on-orbit operational services.
Recently we announced that the Axiom Station, a commercial space station, will leverage MDA robotics technologies, as well as that we are working with Lockheed Martin and General Motors to integrate space robotic arm technology into planned lunar mobility vehicles slated to be permanently stationed on the Moon’s surface for use by commercial and space agency astronauts.
In GeoIntelligence, we continue to see strong demand for our Earth observation data and analytics, and we get regular inquiries from customers about expanding their engagement with us. To consolidate and extend our lead in this area, we are building CHORUS, our next generation multi-sensor commercial Earth observation constellation that we expect will provide extensive coverage for tasks such as maritime surveillance, land intelligence and disaster response.
None of this would be possible without the incredible team at MDA, which includes experienced and committed long-tenured members of the space community in partnership with the talented and motivated new members who are joining us every day as we scale up.
Ours is an increasingly diverse, young and engaged team. It’s an awesome team and I am incredibly honoured to lead it. It is one that you can be proud of and confident in. I’d like to close by saying thank you to everyone on the MDA team for all they have done – and all they will do – to drive innovation at MDA and in the global space economy.
I’d also like to thank our customers, our partners, and our investors for their support on this incredible journey. Together, we will continue to reach new horizons.
Off we go.
Sincerely,
Mike Greenley
CEO
$768m
Order bookings (+50%)
$864m
Backlog (+54%)
$477m
Revenue (+16%)
