The production area of a newly constructed MDA Space facility in Brampton, Ont., on June 27. The space technology company has appointed Janet McEachern, its vice-president of finance, as interim CFO.Christopher Katsarov/The Globe and Mail
MDA Space Ltd. MDA-T is searching for a new chief financial officer, announcing Tuesday morning that Vito Culmone is leaving the company.
The company confirmed in an e-mail that Mr. Culmone has stepped down after more than three years in the position for a new role at a larger public company in his home province of Alberta.
The Brampton, Ont.-based space technology company has appointed Janet McEachern, its vice-president of finance, as interim CFO, effective immediately.
While “unfortunate” for MDA Space given that Mr. Culmone was well-liked by investors, the change likely won’t impact the company’s guidance for this fiscal year, said Thanos Moschopoulos, a technology analyst at BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.
MDA Space’s revenue is mostly driven by large, multiyear and fixed-price contracts, which can be technically and financially complex, Mr. Moschopoulos said in a note to investors Tuesday morning. As the company is currently working through a backlog of these orders, it’s unlikely the change in leadership halfway through the company’s financial year will lead to share price risk from a forecast reset.
Mr. Culmone was appointed the company’s CFO in March, 2021, shortly before it went public that April. Since then, the company’s share price history has been choppy, often trading below its $14 issue price, but the company has outperformed other space competitors, building a record backlog of orders totaling $3.1-billion.
Last week, MDA Space confirmed it had received a $1-billion contract to build Canadarm3, the next phase of the robotic system that will be used on future moon missions. This was the latest in a string of wins for the company as it seeks to position itself as a key player in the latest iteration space race, fuelled by a rush to build low-earth orbit satellites for internet communications.
It is also building nearly 200 satellites for Telesat Corp., a contract worth $2.1-billion.
MDA Space shares fall after company reports first-quarter profit down from year ago
“After more than three years as CFO of MDA Space during a period of rapid business growth and development, Vito announced he will be departing for a new career opportunity. We wish him all the best,” said company spokesperson Amy MacLeod in an e-mail.
At the same time, the company announced the appointment of Karl Smith to its board of directors. Mr. Smith previously spent a 30-year career at utility company Fortis Inc., retiring in 2018 from the role of CFO. He will sit on the panel responsible for selecting Mr. Culmone’s permanent replacement.
MDA Space is expected to report its second-quarter results in early August.
With files from Sean Silcoff