SIRIUS XM Adds 257,000 Net Subscribers in the Fourth Quarter

**admin** · #1 01-19-2010, 06:20 PM

SIRIUS XM Radio today announced that it ended the year with 18,772,758 subscribers, adding 257,028 net subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2009.

“Based on preliminary financial data, we expect to report over $100 million of free cash flow for 2009, an extraordinary improvement over the pro forma negative free cash flow of $552 million that the company experienced in 2008,” noted Mel Karmazin, Chief Executive Officer, SIRIUS XM. “This is the first year in our history that we have generated positive free cash flow for the entire year. Our fourth quarter subscriber results mark two consecutive quarters of net subscriber additions for SIRIUS XM and are the highest since the third quarter of 2008. Improvements in automotive sales, conversion rates and better than anticipated self-pay churn suggest that the outlook for the auto sector and the effects of the economy on our business are beginning to improve,” Mr. Karmazin added.

The company also announced that the conversion rate to a self-pay subscription from a trial included in the sale of a vehicle for the fourth quarter of 2009 was 46.4%, up from 44.2% in the fourth quarter of 2008, and that self-pay churn was 1.97% for the fourth quarter of 2009. “We expect to meet our guidance and report over $400 million in pro forma adjusted operating income, an improvement of over $500 million from the pro forma adjusted operating income for 2008, and an improvement of nearly $1 billion from the pro forma adjusted operating income for 2007, the last full year prior to the merger of SIRIUS and XM,” said David Frear, Chief Financial Officer, SIRIUS XM.

The company’s self-pay subscriber base increased by 247,182 in the fourth quarter to 15,703,932 subscribers, while total paid and unpaid trials included in the sale of a vehicle remained level with the prior quarter and the prior year at approximately 3.6 million.

SIRIUS XM plans to release full-year 2009 financial results in February 2010.

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View the original Article at Digital Radio Magazine or discuss it here.

IdRatherBeSkiing · #2 01-20-2010, 07:25 AM

Good for them. Perhaps this will end the doom and gloom talk for a month or 2.

**DAB** · #3 01-20-2010, 02:52 PM

This is pretty good, but a lot less ads than I thought! The huge bleed off after the merger that lasted like over two quarters took a toll on the sub count. They are still making up grade from the churn. None the less this is all positive!

SXMN · #4 01-20-2010, 08:00 PM

It looks like this news also gave the stock a little boost today. Let's see what happens in February when they post their financial results.

Jon · #5 01-21-2010, 08:34 PM

This should pretty much end the talk that the service is going away, at least anytime soon. There is room for improvement, of course, but this is a good start.