Sirius matches forecasts with 2Q loss of $157.4 million
By APThursday, August 6, 2009
Sirius matches forecasts with 2Q loss
NEW YORK — Satellite-radio operator Sirius XM Radio Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter loss widened to $157.4 million as one-time charges offset growing revenue.
Sirius has been struggling to turn a profit amid the recession’s disastrous effect on auto sales — a pivotal factor for the company because it signs up many of its new subscribers when they buy vehicles. It took a $530 million loan from Liberty Media Corp. in February in order to stave off a bankruptcy filing.
The downturn continued to hurt the company in the most-recent quarter. Sirius ended the April-June period with roughly 18.4 million customers, down about 1 percent from the year before. Its “churn,” or customer turnover rate, climbed to 2 percent from 1.7 percent.
Sirius helped mitigate those declines by cutting $187 million from expenses. It also boosted the average revenue it got from each subscriber per month to $10.66 from $10.55.
The company now expects $400 million in adjusted income from operations this year, up from a May forecast of $350 million.
Sirius said its per share loss amounted to 4 cents for the three months ended June 30. It reported a loss of $83.9 million, or 6 cents per share, a year ago. But those results did not yet reflect its July 2008 acquisition of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. Sirius also had more shares outstanding in the second quarter of 2009.
The latest results included $108 million in charges related to paying off debt and other one-time costs. Before special items, the adjusted loss came to a penny per share, in line with analysts’ expectations, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.
Sirius said its revenue more than doubled to $590.8 million, largely because of the XM acquisition. Assuming the acquisition had already been completed in the same quarter a year ago, revenue was up 1 percent to $607.8 million, matching expectations.
