XM Satellite Radio 4Q Loss Narrows As Rev
Rises 45%)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
XM Satellite Radio Holding Inc. (XMSR), which last week agreed to a
merger with rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) Monday posted a
narrower fourth-quarter loss helped by continued subscriber growth.
The Washington, D.C., company, which features shows hosted by Oprah
Winfrey, Bob Dylan and talk radio hosts Opie and Anthony, reported a net
loss of $256.7 million, or 90 cents a share, from $268.3 million, or $1.22
a share, a year earlier.
Results from the latest quarter included an impairment charge of $57.6
million and restructuring charges of $21.4 million. The year-ago quarter
included restructuring charges of $25.3 million.
Revenue rose 45% to $257.1 million from $177.1 million a year ago.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected, on average a loss of 71
cents a share on revenue of $242.8 million.
XM and Sirius announced a merger last Monday under which Sirius would
pay 4.6 of its shares for every XM share. The companies expect the $11.4
billion deal to close by the end of the year.
Regulatory issues will most likely be major obstacles for the two
companies, since they are the only ones licensed by the Federal
Communications Commission to offer satellite radio in the U.S.
XM, the biggest satellite radio company, added 442,679 net new
subscribers during the quarter, down from 898,315 a year ago.
The company reported that it added 1.7 millionsubscribers in 2006,
ending the year with 7.6 million subscribers. XM had expected to close the
year with 7.7 million to 7.9 million subscribers.
Subscriber acquisition costs, a component of cost per gross addition,
fell to $70 from $89 a year ago.
Average revenue per subscriber, a closely watched measurement in the
industry, rose to $10.07 from $9.85 a year ago during the quarter. Cost
per gross customer addition was $128, compared with $141 in the year-ago
period.
Churn, or the rate of monthly customer losses, was 1.79% compared with
1.57% a year ago.
Shares of XM and Sirius floundered in 2006, dragged by concerns about
spending and competition. News of the merger pushed up both stocks last
Tuesday, the day after news hit the Wall Street. XM shares closed up 10.2%
while Sirius shares closed up 5.9%.
Sirius, New York, which features a show by shock jock Howard Stern,
reports quarterly results Tuesday.
XM shares were inactive in premarket trading Monday. Shares closed
Friday's trading session at $15.10 while Sirius shares closed the market
at $3.74.
AI
